County: Sligo Site name: GORTALOUGH, Ballinafad
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 40:189, 190 Licence number: 97E0339 ext.
Author: Martin A. Timoney
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 578160m, N 808758m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.027563, -8.333330
Arrow Community Enterprises Ltd is developing a site for the National Field Study Centre in Gortalough, Co. Sligo, at the east end of the Ballinafad Valley between the Curlew and the Bricklieve Mountains.
The west half of the proposed development area is within the constraint areas of the medieval Red Earl's Road and the small, military Ballinafad Castle, 'The Castle of the Curlews', of 1590 or 1610 (Waterman 1961).
Testing had been carried out in October 1997 and 1998 (Excavations 1997, 155), and some flints, late pottery, clay pipes and metal slag were found. There were no features except for several drains and a very archaeological-looking ditch.
Development work and monitoring began on 2 December 1999, and by Christmas Eve over 75% of the area has been dug out, despite water coming from every possible direction. Two mountain streams flow from the south towards the land. In addition to the drains found in the test excavation in 1997, several more drains and modern water pipes were uncovered. These all indicate a long history of attempting to drain this land.
There is no indication so far of the 'great fortifications' referred to by Downing in 1684 (Ó Muraíle, forthcoming) nor of the early village of Ballinafad to the north of the site indicated on the Down Survey parish map.
Monitoring will continue sporadically well into 2000.
References
Ó Muraíle, N. (forthcoming) Downing's description of County Sligo, c. 1684, TCD MS 888/1 (formerly I.4.17). In M.A. Timoney (ed.), A celebration of Sligo.
Waterman, D.M. 1961 Descriptions of five 17th-century houses in Co. Sligo. In E.M. Jope (ed.), Essays in building history.
Bóthar An Corran, Keash, Co. Sligo
