County: Galway Site name: KILCOLGAN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 97E0145
Author: Richard Crumlish, Archaeological Services Unit Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 541923m, N 718109m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.210233, -8.869438
Pre-development testing in the form of trial-trenching was carried out at this site on 16 May 1997 in accordance with a condition of planning for the construction of two dwelling-houses and septic tanks on adjoining sites. The site was located less than one mile west-south-west of Kilcolgan village in rolling grassland. Kilcolgan Castle lay a short distance away to the north-west.
Little is known of the medieval borough of Kilcolgan, which was established in the 13th century and was probably abandoned during the 14th and 15th centuries. No surface evidence remains of the borough except the site of Kilcolgan Castle (now the location of a 19th-century building) and ecclesiastical remains to the south-west of the castle.
The same stratigraphy was in evidence in all three trenches, which were excavated by machine. This consisted of topsoil, below which was found natural subsoil. Below the natural subsoil was found a blue/grey boulder clay, at 0.1–0.9m below the surface. A small number of oyster shells were in evidence in the topsoil. The presence of oyster shells is not surprising given the proximity of the site to the sea (a short distance away to the north-west) and the fact that a footpath is marked on the 3rd edition OS 6" sheet running in an east-west direction across the site.
No archaeology was encountered during the testing at this site.
Purcell House, Oranmore, Co. Galway
