County: Mayo Site name: CARROWCOR
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0680
Author: Bernard Guinan
Site type: Fulacht fia
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 522124m, N 823309m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.152870, -9.192180
During the monitoring of topsoil removal as part of the Lough Mask Regional Water Supply Scheme Stage III (No. 918, Excavations 2001, 01E0314), burnt stone was noted at the edge of an area of peat in the townland of Carrowcor, Co. Mayo. There was no surface evidence to indicate the presence of a site prior to commencement of development works in the area.
An area 12m (north–south) by 14m was excavated up to the limit of the acquired pipeline way-leave. Excavation showed that the site extended beyond the way-leave acquisition line to the south.
The site had been disturbed to varying degrees by a group water scheme, cultivation furrows, land drainage, land reclamation and livestock farming.
Sod and topsoil overlying the site ranged in depth from 0.19m to 0.47m. Beneath and within the topsoil were irregular lenses of redeposited boulder clay (0.07–0.13m deep) resulting from land reclamation. Beneath the topsoil and reclamation zone an irregular spread of compact, charcoal-rich, heat-fractured sandstone was uncovered. This burnt stone was heavily disturbed by a series of cultivation furrows which ran across the site. The furrows were 0.25–0.4m deep and 0.4–0.8m wide. The fill of the furrows was mainly burnt stone material, a result of being cut into this charcoal-rich context. The mound survived to a depth of between 0.9m and 0.26m.
The burnt stone spread sat on a natural deposit of marl 0.03–0.08m deep. The cultivation furrow also cut through this marl. At the northern part of the site a mid-brown/grey compact silty clay was revealed. This natural deposit (0.06–0.2m deep) contained frequent inclusions of small snail shells and rested on the natural boulder clay in places. Over large areas where the natural boulder clay formed hollows, a layer of peat (0.02–0.24m deep) underlay all other deposits. This peat overlay natural compacted grey boulder clay.
The excavation uncovered a small number of struck lithics of chert and flint. These included two flint scrapers, one of which is a concave scraper.
Coosan, Athlone, Co. Westmeath
