2004:1473 - ORAN, Roscommon

Test excavation was carried out on the site of a proposed dwelling at Oran, Co. Roscommon, on 15 November 2004. The site is located in the north-west corner of the area of archaeological constraint around a field system. A moated site (SMR 34:83) and an enclosure (SMR 34:85) are located immediately north-west and south-east, respectively, of the proposed development site. Indeed, the general area might best be described as an archaeological complex, on account of the proliferation of monuments in the area.

A tracked excavator fitted with a wide toothless bucket was retained to open six trenches on the footprint of the proposed development. The stratigraphy was uniform across the site, with light-grey/brown and red/brown fine silty sand topsoil overlying light-orange/brown clayey sand subsoil. Occasional pockets of black silty clay natural were exposed below the subsoil in the northern part of the site. No archaeological material was discovered.