County: Sligo Site name: MAGHERABOY AND CALTRAGH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0533 ext.
Author: Mary Henry, Mary Henry Archaeological Services Ltd.
Site type: Fulacht fia and Habitation site
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 568035m, N 835591m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.268134, -8.490695
Monitoring was undertaken as part of ground disturbance on the Caltragh Sewerage Scheme, Sligo, which took place in greenfield areas to the south of the town of Sligo. The works were concentrated in the townlands of Magheraboy and Caltragh. The pipeline extended for a length of 1.7km through a shallow valley. There were no known archaeological sites along the pipeline route.
Although the pipeline was relatively short, a number of archaeological sites were uncovered in the course of monitoring groundworks. Four fulachta fiadh were uncovered: three were excavated, and the fourth was preserved in situ. Close to one of the fulachta fiadh a Neolithic site was uncovered and sufficiently excavated to facilitate the laying of the service pipes. The excavations of the fulachta fiadh and the Neolithic site took place under different licences.
Regarding the fulachta fiadh, only the burnt mounds were uncovered. There were no traces of the trough or hearths in any of the excavated sites. It is possible that these characteristic features may have survived outside the pipeline route. Regarding the Neolithic site, it was only necessary to excavate part of the site to facilitate the pipe-laying. The site consisted of the remains of a working area, and some habitation deposits were uncovered. The finds from the Neolithic site included pottery, stone tools and debitage.
24 Queen Street, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
