1996:301 - KILBRENAN CHURCH, Gweeshadan, Mayo

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Mayo Site name: KILBRENAN CHURCH, Gweeshadan

Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 90:102 Licence number: 96E0229

Author: Frank Ryan

Site type: No archaeology found

Period/Dating: N/A

ITM: E 512069m, N 728228m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.796670, -9.208056

The road to the east of the graveyard was due to be widened by Mayo County Council to accommodate extra parking during funerals. It was proposed to build a retaining wall on the east side of the road 8m from the existing wall. The height of the road was between 0.8m and 1m above that of the ground level on the east side of the road. Consequently, it was proposed that the area between the road and the new retaining wall be infilled to raise the ground level to that of the road.

The remains of a disused road, shown on the 1839 map, ran east-west at the south end of the area tested. The road had been realigned since that date and some of the gravel infill of the road could still be traced below the grass. A drystone wall was partially preserved on the north side of the disused road.

A series of nine parallel trenches, 6m long, were dug by machine to the depth of the natural subsoil. The width of the trenches was 0.7m and the depth to subsoil varied between 0.15m and 0.3m. An 80m-long trench was cut at right angles to these where the new retaining wall was to be located. Below a 0.1 m depth of humic topsoil, the subsoil comprised a sticky texture of light brown colour containing loose limestone, below which was limestone bedrock. A 6m-long trench was cut across the infill which formed the body of the disused road. The retaining wall at this point was 0.9m high and the old road infill reached a max. height of 0.72m above the ground level, decreasing in height towards the south side of the road. Below this was light brown subsoil mixed with loose limestone which overlay bedrock.

Three 2m-long trenches were dug to the south of the disused road where the new retaining wall joined the existing road. The depth of the trenches was between 0.5m and 0.6m, with a similar soil profile to the previous trenches dug.

No archaeological features were recorded from any of the trenches.

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