1997:197 - DOONLOUGHAN, Galway

A collection of midden and hut sites lies among the sand-dunes east of the shores of Doonloughan and False bays, near the village of Ballyconneely, Co. Galway. Previous seasons' fieldwork in the area includes a radiocarbon dating and a mapping project of these sites and the excavation of a Bronze Age midden, DL1 (Excavations 1994, 41–2, 94E0128).

In 1997 the area was again revisited and two Early Christian sites were excavated over a period of three weeks. The first site, DL3 (cal. 2-sigma range AD 723–889), was identified by an eroding horizon of interwoven charred wood (birch roundwood) and straw, suggestive of a wickerwork structure which lay very close to the surface. On excavation this feature proved to extend discontinuously southwards. A thick layer of comminuted charcoal along with some burnt stones defined the remainder of the site. Two pits, one containing a vertical burnt post, were uncovered, along with a line of four burnt stakes driven into the sterile sand. Some fish bone and shellfish remains, mainly periwinkles, occurred in the associated layers of stained sandy soil.

The finds consisted of an unidentifiable oxidised iron object and a copper penannular brooch.

The second site, DL11, was an incomplete circular stone hut site, partially removed through erosion. A stone-lined hearth lay at the centre and two jambstones, one upright and one recumbent, demarcated the entrance to the north-east. Beneath the latter stone a broken blue glass bead was recovered. Two worked bone pins and a broken blue bead complete the list of finds from the site. The occupation material from the former floor surface of the hut produced much fish bone, some mammal bone and shellfish, in particular periwinkles and limpets as well as broken dogwhelk shells, suggesting a link with other sites in the immediate area and with the production of purple dye.

BT9 1NN