2001:1144 - CARROWMORE VISITOR CENTRE, Carrowmore, Sligo

Test excavations took place in advance of construction of a sewage treatment plant, percolation area and extension to the existing buildings at the Carrowmore Visitor Centre, Carrowmore megalithic complex, Co. Sligo. The Visitor Centre is housed in an extended cottage and the planned development involved two different extensions to the cottage.

The Visitor Centre is on the south-facing slope of the ridge that marks the northern limit of Carrowmore megalithic complex. The area, being on the north side of a small valley orientated east–west, overlooks the focal area around C51 on the crest on the other side of the valley. The area around this small valley could be of particular interest as it has been suggested that the main route into the complex reached Carrowmore at this point. Even though no archaeological monuments/features were known in the immediate vicinity of the planned development, the area has high archaeological potential.

Test excavation with a small digger, combined with trowelling and water-sieving, was carried out in all areas. In the larger area where the percolation was to be located, three c. 30m-long trenches were excavated. No features of prehistoric date were recorded within the trenches. The finds consisted of thirteen pieces of worked chert, one piece of worked flint, one piece of worked quartz and one concave scraper of chert.

The test excavations have not revealed the existence of any archaeological remains in situ within the area planned for development. The presence of some pieces of worked chert in the lower part of the topsoil/upper part of the underlying clay indicates that there was Neolithic activity in the general area, but the frequency is too low to indicate any substantial activity within the area now planned for development.

Rockville, Culleenamore, Co. Sligo