County: Sligo Site name: KILBOGLASHY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 99E0245
Author: Richard Crumlish, Archaeological Services Unit Ltd.
Site type: Midden
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 566176m, N 828676m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.205886, -8.518446
Pre-development testing was carried out on the proposed site of a sewerage treatment plant for Ballysadare at Kilboglashy townland, Co. Sligo, on 16 November 1999, owing to the location of a possible enclosure and a possible linear earthwork within the area of the proposed development.
The site was on a steep, east-facing slope in grassland on the north-west outskirts of Ballysadare, bounded on the east by the Ballysadare river and a mill-race, on the west by a tarred boreen, and on the south by a school playing area. A short distance to the north of the site was St Fechin's church and graveyard (SMR 20:109).
Four trial-trenches were excavated by machine during the testing, positioned to investigate the possible enclosure and the possible linear earthwork, identified in the initial assessment. Two trenches (A and B) were excavated across the enclosure, and two (C and D) were excavated across the earthwork. Trenches A and B were orientated north-east/south-west and were 10m long, 1–1.8m wide and 0.4–2.3m deep. Trenches C and D were orientated north-north-west/south-south-east and were 10–10.4m long, 0.9–1.2m wide and 0.1–1.1m deep.
The stratigraphy in Trench A consisted of topsoil, below which was a loose rubble backfill of stones and boulders. Because of the loose nature of this backfill the trench collapsed continually, which made close investigation impossible from a safety aspect. It also meant that the layer below the backfill was never visible. The stratigraphy in Trench B consisted of topsoil, below which was orange/brown, natural subsoil and redeposited material. At the north-east end of the trench was a shell midden 0.4m long, 0.3m wide and 0.1m thick. The stratigraphy in Trenches C and D was natural and undisturbed.
Occasional animal bone fragments were visible within the loose rubble backfill in Trench A and in the redeposited material in Trench B. No artefacts were in evidence in Trenches C and D.
Trenches A and B revealed evidence of backfilling, and, while no definite datable artefacts were recovered, the backfilled material in both trenches appeared recent. No bank was in evidence along the length of the possible enclosure but rather a scarp, which formed an arc. The backfilling appeared to end along the base of the scarp, which may indicate that this was the edge of a dump or a site backfilled for a purpose. The shell midden was at the bottom of the scarp in Trench B and therefore outside the limit of the backfilled material. The proximity of Ballysadare Bay could explain the isolated nature of its location.
Further to the testing, it was recommended that all topsoil-stripping before groundworks and all groundworks in the immediate vicinity of the possible enclosure be monitored by a licensed archaeologist.
Purcell House, Oranmore, Co. Galway
