2021:803 - Bullaun, Galway

Archaeological excavation was undertaken in advance of development at Bullaun, Co. Galway, in February 2021. The excavation followed on from the discovery of a cluster of pits and several linear features during testing at the site in October 2020 (2020:233). The linear features were investigated and revealed to be furrows and land drains but the six pits were clearly archaeological. The pits were generally sub-circular in plan, and ranged from 0.5-1.2m in diameter, and 0.1-0.35m in depth.  Charcoal-rich fills were present within most of the pits, and one was found to contain two post-holes in its base. The only finds were small fragments of burnt and unburnt bone, the majority of which were recovered from a single pit. Some of the larger fragments were identified as animal bones but most were unidentifiable. Charcoal samples from two of the pits returned median probability dates in the mid-16th and mid-17th centuries.