County: Galway Site name: KNOCKNACARRAGH CROSS, Galway
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 93:13 Licence number: 94E0068
Author: Madeline O'Brien, c/o Dept. of Archaeology, UCG
Site type: Water mill - horizontal-wheeled
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 526066m, N 723929m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.260559, -9.108126
A rescue excavation was carried out in May 1994 in advance of housing development at Knocknacarragh Cross, on the outskirts of Galway city. Drainage works in this field in 1971 uncovered the foundation timbers of a horizontal water mill, subsequently radiocarbon dated to the Early Christian period. These timbers were reburied on-site and it was deemed necessary to conduct more controlled investigations prior to the recent developement. Machine trenching over one week, two weeks' hand-excavation and a watching brief during construction were carried out to investigate the location of the mill site and some nearby 19th-century estate remains. No significant finds or structures connected with the mill were recorded in the course of this work.
