County: Sligo Site name: SHROOVE (Lough Gara)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 46:29 Licence number: 97E0209
Author: Christina Fredengren, Department of Archaeology, Stockholm University
Site type: Platform
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 570946m, N 798852m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.938188, -8.442478
The excavations in Shroove townland at the shore of Lough Gara, Co. Sligo, continued this year. The main focus was an oval rise occupying a position in front of the causeway leading out to the artificial island investigated last year. The low rise stretched c. 17m from the north-east to the south-west and was more or less kidney shaped, with a small dip in the area nearest to the causeway resembling a burnt mound. It was found that the mound consisted of sand and the dip was the location of a small, cobbled stone floor, forming a forecourt area to the causeway.
The excavation of the small artificial island (Excavations 1997, 156) also continued this year. A brushwood floor circled by postholes was found, covered by a small floor of flat stones.
Among the finds were what seem to be two ringed pins of iron (only X-ray will confirm this) and a fragment of a lignite bracelet.
The Crannog Research Programme thanks Dúchas The Heritage Service and the National Committee for Archaeology at the Royal Irish Academy for finances and support.
S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
