County: Cavan Site name: TULLYMONGAN LOWER
Sites and Monuments Record No.: CV020-087---- Licence number: 03E0385
Author: Stephen Gilmore, Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.
Site type: Ring-ditch, Structure and Burnt mound
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 642204m, N 804572m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.988679, -7.356463
The development site, an area of 3.4ha, was situated on the eastern slopes of Gallows Hill, a drumlin situated to the east of Cavan town. This area was probably once part of a greater Kilmooney Lough, which had silted up over the centuries. A marshy area extended north and south of the east end of the development for several hundred metres.
Three areas of archaeology were uncovered on-site. The main feature in Area 1, on the terrace above the reclaimed bog, was a circular ring-ditch about 8.5m in diameter. The ditch cut was 0.5–0.8m wide and 0.3–0.5m deep. The ditch was deepest at the western (uphill) side. Bronze Age coarse pottery was uncovered, along with large amounts of burnt grain and burnt animal bone. Remains of post-holes inside the ring-ditch suggested the remnants of a circular house.
The main features in Area 2 were two D-shaped curving ditches some 15m in length and up to 0.5m in depth. Although D-shaped and subrectangular houses have been uncovered elsewhere, these features were most likely drip gullies, protecting an internal structure that did not survive. The southernmost feature, C202, was truncated on its southern end by a large field boundary. There was no sign of any internal features that would suggest that this cut was a wall slot of a building. Post-holes were entirely absent, both from the floor of the slot and from the area enclosed by it. As up to 0.5m of topsoil was removed from above this feature, this is not a problem, as evidence for many constructional techniques would have been destroyed by this truncation. There was evidence for metalling along the northern part of the inner edge of one of the ditches, suggesting that a structure may have been present. There was possible evidence for this metalling on the outer trench edge, suggesting that it was cut through by C202, though the metalling was not well enough preserved to be sure. Again pottery, cereal and burnt bone were recovered.
Area 3 was a burnt mound, 16m in length, 8m in width and up to 0.5m in thickness. It was situated in the east shore of a silted-up lake, now partially a marsh in an area of improved land. The mound partially lay on the basal clay of the bank and partially on the peat that had filled the lake. It was invisible on the surface and was uncovered during testing. The mound was irregular in shape and sloped downwards to the east, north and south. It was composed of burnt and shattered stone. There was no sign of a trough, either under the mound or close beside it.
The four areas of activity appeared to point to some form of settlement on the site. The ditched features on the terrace in the middle of the site were probably houses or features associated with houses. Post-excavation analysis will shed further light on this. The burnt mound was the remains of a process using heated stones to boil water. Though a trough was not found, the site type was a common enough discovery to be categorised.
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