Seen & Found

So I was out at Ballyheigue Beach, Co Kerry yesterday morning at low tide and immediately noticed the large eroded area in front of the car park ( maybe a third of an acre or there about ). Had known that bog has been seen here before when winter storms shifted the sands.
Quite a large area of bog with numerous tree stumps and lying embedded wooden debris can be seen scattered about.Could even see what looked like seeds or kernals. Also most notable is what appears to be areas cut out of the bog. A lot of these are neat rectangular shapes and saw what looks like the marks left by a slean at the edge of one bank, this looks later but could still be quite old. Also had the impression that there is track marks on the bog surface , like that left by a cart of some sort. Also seen what looks like horseshoe prints. To the right of this area was what again looked like recently exposed track of laid stone although this might be a natural deposit of stone. The stone itself seemed to be more jagged than what you normally find on a beach and more closely compacted ie not rolled by the wave action and would presume has not had much interaction with the seawater.
Been searching on line but cant find any mention or pictures of this area. Have found reports of ' drowned forests been uncovered in Galway in 2014 / 2017 etc . Have seen dates for these from 4000 to 7500 years old.
Would appreciate any thoughts or being pointed towards where to find any information on this area or if it is worth reporting further to service like national monuments etc.

Ballyheigue Beach

https://goo.gl/maps/AM2CHzEGFu6cUgoF8

more shot of Ballyheigue exposed bog area.

The tracks were only a few inches wide, would fit with the description given by slowburner of a slipe or slide cart. Cant get back now for a couple of weeks with the restrictions but will bring a measuring tape and meter stick for perspective , hopefully it will still be uncovered.

Was thinking yes it could have been cut out sometime in the not so distant past after becoming exposed, hard to know how long ago but I will keep searching for any information and share with ye.

forgottenhills wrote: »

I was more thinking of the distance between the two tracks, whether it would match the distance between the wheels on a car axle for cars in the 1960s or 70's. Cars at that time had very narrow tyres compared to most modern ones and cars, or trailers built on car axles, would leave a track like that in soft ground. The other thing is that there does not seem to be any track left by whatever was pulling the thing making the tracks. If is sunk that far in the bog you would expect to also see the tracks of whatever was pulling it, either a horse/donkey, people power or tractor. Since there doesn't seem to be any other such tracks there I am suspecting a self propelled vehicle made the tracks, such as a car with narrow tyres that someone drove out on the exposed bog for a lark. Just a theory, I could be wrong!

Yeah certainly a possibility, sent a message to a work colleague from Ballyheigue to see if they or older members of the family have ever heard of turf being cut there in modern times, will see what they say.