County: Clare Site name: CAHIRACON (ED Rinealon) (BGE 3/37/10)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E0940
Author: Emer Dennehy, for Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Watercourse
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 522466m, N 654971m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.640413, -9.145583
The medieval culvert and associated road were exposed during monitoring of topsoil-stripping along Section 3 of the Bord Gáis Éireann Pipeline to the West, from Goatisland, Co. Limerick, to Gort, Co. Galway. A total of 23 contexts were excavated, with no finds recorded. The site was north-west of the R473, the main road between Kildysart and Shannakea. The culvert ran north–south across the site and measured 11.5m by 1.77m; the side walls were constructed of sandstone or ashlar to a depth of 0.4m, forming a linear, open-sided box.
The walls supported the culvert roof, which was constructed of thin slate flagstones and had a springing height from base to ceiling of 1.3m. Unlike the stone from the side walls, the slate was neither cut nor shaped. This semi-elliptical arch was held in place by a lime-and-sand mortar. The culvert ran to either side of the late medieval road, and the north and south ends had been purposefully blocked with stone similar to that used in the roof construction. Its location not in a cut but in the base of a stream bed means that it would have served to channel stream water underneath the road.
The road ran north-west/south-east across the site and measured 16.25m by 4.7m; it continued away from the site in both directions but was obscured by topsoil and vegetation. To the south-east a modern bóthairín (small road) followed the course of the medieval road, connecting the site to the R473. The road was initially constructed from a layer of highly compacted gravel, 4.7m wide, that formed the original surface, with a central depth of 0.09m, tapering to 0.03m at the edges. The slate used for the construction of the road and the culvert was the predominant stone in the area, indicating that the materials were sourced locally. It is assumed that after construction the road was in constant use, and it is during this time that mud and silt accumulated on the surface until it was resurfaced with flat slate pieces, measuring 0.02–0.4m. This upper surface was incomplete and had been disturbed before recording. After the resurfacing the road fell into disuse. In historical records the medieval road is present on the first-edition, 1842, OS map but absent from the third edition in the 1920s. This indicates construction before 1842 and an end of use and maintenance before the 1920s.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
