County: Donegal Site name: GLEBE, Rough Point, Killybegs
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0807
Author: Frank Coyne, Æegis Archaeology Ltd.
Site type: Building and House - 16th/17th century
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 571657m, N 875796m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.629593, -8.438935
Five stone structures, in various states of disrepair, as well as an area of ‘lazy-beds’ and a boundary wall on an island known as Rough Point, Killybegs, were excavated in advance of a major pier development.
Structure 1 was rectangular in plan and measured 15m north–south by 5m. The walls survived to just over 1m in height, and were built of undressed stone bonded with boulder clay. This house was divided into two rooms, each with a fireplace. Traces of a flag floor were noted. The 0.8m-wide doorway opened to the east, while a corresponding doorway in the western wall had been blocked up. A circular pit was recorded in the interior.
Structure 2, at the centre of the island, was rectangular in plan and measured 13.5m east–west by 6m. A substantial fireplace was recorded in the western gable, while a paved area in the eastern gable may be the remains of another fireplace. The walls were constructed of undressed stone bonded with clay, and survived to a maximum height of 1m at the gables. The north wall was almost completely destroyed, and a doorway was recorded in the denuded south wall. A circular pit was recorded in the interior, and no internal division was noted. The floor was of boulder clay.
Structure 3a was on the lower part of the island. Aligned north–south on its long axis, it measured 12m by 6m. This structure was in an advanced state of disrepair, with almost all of the eastern wall being absent. The southern part of this structure was floored with a series of closely set flagstones, which included two broken rotary quernstones. The wall was constructed of large boulders and smaller stones, loosely bonded with clay. The structure had rounded ends, and survived to an average height of 0.8m. The floor appears to have consisted of compacted clay and gravel.
Structure 3b was on the lower part of the island, immediately to the east of Structure 3a. Aligned north–south on its long axis, it measured 10m by 5m. It survived to an average of two courses in height. No internal division was noted, although a doorway with a porch-like feature was located in the eastern wall. A network of drains was recorded in the northern half of the structure, which exited through a hole in the northern gable, directly into the sea. The floor was formed of compacted gravel and clay. No fireplace was noted in either Structure 3a or Structure 3b.
Structure 4 was immediately to the north of Structure 2. It was aligned north–south on its long axis, and measured 10m by 5m. A well-constructed fireplace was recorded in the northern gable. The walls were constructed of undressed stone bonded with clay, and survived to a maximum of one course. The southern gable was missing, but from the evidence of the surviving walls it seems likely that the doorway would have been in the eastern wall of the house. No internal division was noted, and the floor was formed of compacted boulder clay. A small drain was excavated in the north-eastern side of the house.
The finds recovered from these structures consisted almost entirely of pottery. Although less than 200 sherds were retrieved, they suggest a 17th-century date for this settlement. From supporting cartographic and documentary evidence, it would appear that the site represents part of the original Plantation settlement of Killybegs.
16 Avondale Court, Corbally, Limerick
