County: Sligo Site name: DERNASKEAGH, Ballinafad
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 40:153 Licence number: 01E0566
Author: Christopher Read, North West Archaeological Services
Site type: Road - road/trackway
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 578160m, N 808758m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.027563, -8.333330
Pre-development testing for a single house, garage, access lane and septic tank took place. The site of the proposed development is crossed by an ancient route known locally as ‘the Red Earl’s Road’. The remains of the road are highly visible and take the form of a linear ditch-like feature cutting across the site from north to south.
A single trench was excavated across the line of the road, revealing a layer of woven timber just beneath the sod, in addition to a deposit of charcoal/burnt material on one side. The timbers were 20–40mm in diameter, and the width of the entire trackway was 2.2–2.5m. Given the obvious presence of archaeology and the fact that the road effectively cuts the proposed development in half, the developer agreed to abandon this site in favour of another location on his property.
Cloonfad Cottage, Cloonfad, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim
