1998:104 - CROCKAHENNY (Inishowen), Donegal

The proposed site of Crockahenny Wind Farm lies around the summit of Crockahenny Hill (OD 326m) and stretches across the col between it and the lower slopes of Leamacrossan (OD 392m) to the east.

There are no known archaeological sites recorded in the immediate vicinity of the hill. Field-walking took place on 10 September 1997. No sites of archaeological interest were identified in the area of the wind generators, four of which are positioned close to the 1000ft contour.

The proposed access road traverses the southern flank of the hill, running approximately west to east. About a third of the way along, its line crosses that of a series of relict field boundaries. Four examples were noted, two of which ran downslope at right angles to the contours. The northern, upslope end of the westernmost example revealed evidence of a joining cross-wall. These features do not appear on the OS 6-inch map of the area and were in extremely poor repair, with the surviving stones deeply embedded in the subsoil. Taken together they may indicate a prehistoric field system, and, if so, it is possible that the upper slopes of Crockahenny Hill also have traces of this system surviving under the peat.

Nothing of archaeological significance was noted in the area of the switch-gear and control building.

Owing to the complex nature of the field system discovered during the field-walk phase, an EDM survey was undertaken to record its extent. Two distinct systems were recorded, the first on the western flank of the hill and the second centred on the area where the initial field walls were noted. The remains on the western flank consisted of a roughly circular enclosure some 170m in diameter and defined from north-west through north to east by the remains of a substantial stone wall. From east to the intersection with the trackway the enclosure appears to be preserved in the line of a broad, shallow, water-logged ditch. Its south-west arc seems to survive on the southern side of the trackway as a stone bank. However, the construction of the track has disturbed this area considerably, and therefore what is visible on the ground may be a by-product of the track construction rather than the original line of the enclosure. No trace was noted for a distance of some 70m to the north of the track on the west side.

The enclosure appears to be divided in half by a cross-wall that runs from north-north-west to south-south-east. However, it was not traced beyond half distance. A subrectangular enclosure, measuring some 6m by 5m, was noted on the west side of this cross-wall.

The north side of the enclosure revealed evidence of radial walls, the first running due north for some 85m. The second, to the north-east, ran for a distance of 30m before turning south-east and running up to a steep-sided rock outcrop, with a third wall running 20m from the enclosure to the rock outcrop.

At a distance of some 100m to the south-east of the enclosure a possible hut circle was recorded. It was situated on the 270m contour and consisted of a level platform, backed on the upslope side by an outcrop of rock and to the front and sides by the curving arc of a bank. These features defined an oval area measuring 25m east-west by 20m transversely. A possible break in the line of the bank to the south-east appeared to be the remains of an entrance.

Further to the east the line of a field wall was recorded running south-west to north-east perpendicular to the slope of the hill. It consisted of large boulders protruding from the grass- and peat-covered ground and was easily traceable for a distance of some 130m. Its northern end abutted an outcrop of bedrock. To the north of this the wall reappeared, arcing around roughly at a right angle and running for a further 40m to abut against another rock outcrop. The possible remains of a further wall were noted running across the corner created by Walls 1 and 2; however, this was not clear on the ground. A fourth wall was recorded to the south of the east end of Wall 2 and, as with Wall 1, ran perpendicular to the slope of the hill.

The line of the fourth wall marked a change in the vegetation cover on the hillside. To the west, where the hill was exposed to the prevailing south-westerlies, the cover was grass, reeds and exposed bedrock. To the east, the leeward side was covered in a blanket of peat, heather and sphagnum, which has the effect of masking any further evidence of archaeology along this flank.

Some bog probing took place, concentrating on two areas: at the apparent southern termini of the Walls 1 and 4 and along the proposed line of the access route up the hillside. The northern termini of Walls 1, 2 and 4 were examined, but each of these was found to run into outcrops of bedrock and was not seen to run beyond.

The probing of the access route was carried out at 1m intervals starting at the upslope eastern end. The depth of bog cover was recorded, and, where rock was encountered, detailed probing took place to ascertain whether it was part of a larger, possibly archaeological feature. The termini of Walls 1 and 4 were likewise examined with detailed probing both across and along their projected lines.

The probing of the field walls showed that their downslope ends more or less terminated where they were visible on the ground, with their upslope ends disappearing into natural rock outcrops.

A proposed area of rock extraction was also examined and revealed nothing of archaeological significance.

Finally monitoring of the open-area stripping of the switch-gear building and of the access roadway and generator pads took place. Nothing of archaeological significance was found.

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