County: Cavan Site name: DERRYGARRA UPPER
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0164
Author: Deirdre Murphy, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: Fulacht fia
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
ITM: E 640928m, N 809775m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.035536, -7.375211
The site at Derrygarra Upper was uncovered during monitoring of road-stripping for the Cavan Bypass. Excavation has revealed a large burnt mound up to 0.4m high and up to 12m north-south by 6m east- west. It may reach 0.6m beyond the field boundary to the east of the site.
Small fragments of burnt stone, which took on a reddish-brown colour, and blackened earth, which contained a large percentage of charcoal, made up 80% of the mound. Several features were revealed under this mound in the natural soil, including a V-shaped gully that ran east-west along the northern limit of the site, possibly acting as a drainage channel for water.
No artefacts were recovered from the mound, which is characteristic of such monuments, and a radiocarbon date of 3656±46 years BP (cal. BC 2134–1972) was obtained for charcoal from the mound. The former presence nearby of a standing stone at Tullybuck (SMR 15:72) and the unclassified megalithic tomb at Drummany (SMR 15:40) attest to occupation of the area both before and during the Bronze Age.
A thin layer of peaty soil overlies the burnt mound, which in turn is overlain by a field bank constructed from redeposited natural soil against which was thrown clay and small stones, perhaps from field clearance. This field boundary may have been of considerable antiquity. East of the field boundary site inspection revealed further burnt material seen in the section of the stream. This may represent a further site and has been preserved intact.
15 Trinity Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth
