County: Galway Site name: DOUGHISKA
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 82:43, 82:44 Licence number: 94E0148
Author: Richard Crumlish, Archaeological Services Unit, University College Galway
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 534401m, N 726352m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.283430, -8.983720
This project involved the investigation of six sites in the townland of Doughiska, on the outskirts of Galway City, between September 26 and December 7, 1994. The six sites consisted of two burnt mounds (Site Nos. 1 and 2), two uncertain earthworks (Site Nos. 3 and 4), a field system (Site No. 5) and an ancient roadway (Site No. 6).
The work was undertaken by the Archaeological Services Unit, U.C.G., for the Road Design Section of Galway County Council, in advance of the construction of Phase III of the Galway Eastern Approach Road. All of the sites were located within 500m of each other in a low-lying field of rough grazing, scrub and rock outcrop, which is liable to flooding.
The project consisted of a full excavation of the smaller of the two burnt mounds (Site No. 1), a partial excavation of the larger mound (Site No. 2), trial trenching of those parts of the field system and ancient roadway affected by the road development, and trial trenching of the two uncertain earthworks in order to ascertain their archaeological significance.
Site No. 1 consisted of a roughly horse-shoe shaped, low, grassy mound, which opened to the west-south-west. It measured 6.8m north-south, 5.1m east-west and was 0.5m high. Its excavation produced a good example of a burnt mound with a possible trough site, located to the back of the mound. No artefacts, however, were recovered.
Site No. 2 was located 47m east of site No. 1. It consisted of a large kidney-shaped, grassy mound which opened to the west-south-west. It measured 16.8m north-south, 13.35m east-west and was 1m high. A trench was dug along the western edge of the site, measuring 17m long and 3m wide, corresponding to that part of the site affected by the road development. This trench included a small portion of the burnt mound. No features were in evidence. Discovered within the trench, however, and adjacent to the mound, was a kerb of nine upright boulders. The trenching of the area between these two sites produced no archaeological evidence, but did yield a polished stone axehead, from the topsoil of a trench located close to Site No. 1.
Two trenches were excavated along the ancient roadway which consisted of a 438m long and 4.85m wide route, running south-east/north-west, and delimited by boulders set into the topsoil. The first was dug at an oblique angle to the roadway, west-south-west/east-north-east and measured 12m long and 3m wide. The second was dug at right angles to the roadway and measured 8.3m long and 3m wide. These trenches produced no archaeology. The second trench, however, which also cut across a section of the field system (Site No. 5), showed that the field system post-dated the roadway.
The investigation of two sections of the field system produced nothing of archaeological significance.Site No. 3 was located some 100m south-south-east of site No. 2 and was previously unknown. It was discovered during the field study of the area. It consisted of a low, kidney-shaped grassy mound which opened, once again, to the west-south-west. It measured 7.8m north-south, 6.4m east-west and was 0.4m high. A trench was dug in the north-east quadrant of the mound, measuring 2m long, 1.5m wide and 0.35m deep. This showed evidence of the edge of a burnt mound, located below the topsoil and resting on boulder clay.
The trial trenching of the other uncertain earthwork (Site No. 4), provided inconclusive evidence of its archaeological significance. A further season's work is envisaged on Site Nos. 3 and 4.
