1992:147 - RATHLACKAN, Mayo

A 2nd 5-week season was spent on this site, begun in 1990 (Excavations 1990), funded by the OPW on the recommendation of the National Committee for Archaeology of the RIA. The site consists of a court tomb with attached prebog D-shaped enclosure which contains a small, square shaped house structure. In 1992 a number of areas were examined, (see plan below):

(B) House
The excavation of the house was completed but there were no artifacts found within it. The radiocarbon determination from a sample of charcoal from the hearth was Beta-48102:4110+60 BP.

(D) Enclosure wall
A 6m-long portion of the enclosure wall at the northern end was uncovered. Prior to excavation the tops of a number of apparently orthostatic facing stones were protruding above the pear, whereas the previously excavated portion in cutting A had a double facing of small horizontally laid stones. When the peat was removed in Cutting D the wall was found to incorporate a lot of upright slab stones, between 0.5m-0.72m high, aligned with the direction of the wall. However many of them were not set into the ground so that the wall did not appear to be a very stable structure. The reason for different building techniques in two separate portions of the same continuous wall is not certain but it may indicate a later repair to the enclosure.

(C) Front of tomb
An area at the north-east corner of the cairn was excavated in order to establish the nature of the cairn and possible court and also to examine the relationship of the eastern end of the enclosure to the tomb.

When the peat was removed a jumbled mass of flattish sandstones was revealed. When the collapsed stones were gradually removed the original cairn structure became apparent, revealing a portion of the entrance and court, a frontal facade from the court to the north edge of the cairn and part of the north kerb (see plan).

A 3.4m long, gently curving, dry-walled section of the court was uncovered. It survived to a maximum height of over 0.9m and was formed by large recumbent sandstone blocks, the largest of which was 1.3m long and 0.38m high, adjacent to the entrance. These were all much thicker and heavier than the stones used in the frontal facade which was also of dry-walled construction and survived up to 0.7m high with up to 5 courses. This was 5m long and extended in a north-south direction, giving a slightly convex front to the cairn. Outside the cairn, both in front of the facade and in the court, the substantial amount of collapsed stones indicated the cairn originally stood much higher.

The northern side of the cairn had a straight dry-walled kerb, but only the basal course of stones, which were well set into the ground, survived. The remainder had been removed in antiquity, prior to the peat growth. One of the larger kerb stones was leaning outwards, apparently pushed out by the pressure of cairn stones behind it, perhaps indicating that this part of the cairn had already collapsed before the stones were removed rather than being deliberately demolished.

The enclosure wall extended northwards from the northeast corner of the cairn but it was very poorly defined, consisting only of loosely and randomly placed stones with no definable edge, although this may have been a gap in the wall. It was not possible so far to determine whether the enclosure here was built before or after the major cairn collapse or indeed whether the cairn material was robbed to build the wall.

In the south-east corner of the cutting a rough paving covered an area of about 2.8m by 1.6m, laid on some cairn collapse, and consisting of flat slabs in a roughly level surface and the hollows filled with rightly packed rounded stones less than 0.1 m in size. This may indicate activity here later than the collapse or displacement of the cairn which also seems to be evidenced by a large quantity of finds throughout the collapsed cairn material immediately around the court entrance.

(E)
The peat was removed from this cutting, revealing a mass of stones. None of the stones have yet been moved so the original edge of the cairn was not evident. However there was a much higher proportion of smaller stones than in Cutting C, but the significance of this remains to be seen.

Finds
A total of 78 finds came from Cutting C, the majority scattered amongst the collapsed stones around the court entrance. They included 46 chert, 18 quartz, 10 flint and 4 of other stone. Five, including 2 burnt flints, were on the court surface and 5 others outside the collapse. Recognisable chert implements included an unfinished leaf arrowhead, 2 knives, a rounded and a rectangular scraper and 2 points. A high proportion had some retouch or wear and the remainder were waste pieces. Of the flint 2 were scrapers and 1 was a fine blade knife. At least 3 quartz pieces were worn and there was also a hammerstone and 2 rounded stones as well as a triangular knife of a light porous stone.

Ballyglass, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo