County: Sligo Site name: SLIGO INNER RELIEF ROAD
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0942
Author: Frank Ryan, on behalf of Mary Henry Archaeological Services Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 568993m, N 836528m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.276610, -8.476089
Approximately 10% of the topsoil was removed along the 3km route between the existing Carrowroe roundabout and Summerhill, in which a total of 21 fields underwent test-trenching in the townlands of Carrowmore, Caltragh, Cornageeha, Magheraboy and Tonafortes. A post-medieval agricultural landscape was exposed along the entire route, which comprised the remains of field boundaries and boreens, indicated by fosses and the remains of groups of furrows. Large lime spreads with occasional lime-burning pits were a characteristic of the landscape.
Features of earlier date were also recorded. These comprised at least 90 pits, oval or circular and usually of small size. Some of these contained cremated bone, chert or worked flint. Approximately 40 of these could be regarded as probable cremation/burnt pits. Two areas in particular along the route may prove to contain concentrations of cremation pits of prehistoric date. Two boggy areas revealed extensive evidence of prehistoric occupation, including six burnt mound spreads and animal bone debris.
28 Cabinteely Way, Cabinteely, Dublin 18
