2004:1526 - KILBOGLASHY, Sligo

Testing in October 2004 in the vicinity of an enclosure was part of an overall assessment in the townlands of Kilboglashy and Abbeytown connected with developments by Harrington Concrete (Sligo) Ltd at the Abbeytown quarry on the western side of the village of Ballysadare. Details of related testing at sites can be found elsewhere in this volume: Kilboglashy, SMR 20:109(02) (No. 1525, Excavations 2004, 04E01470); Kilboglashy, 20:109(07) (No. 1527, Excavations 2004, 04E1472); Abbeytown, 20:158 (No. 1486, Excavations 2004, 04E1468); and Abbeytown, 20:159 (No. 1487, Excavations 2004, 04E1469).

The degraded enclosure is not marked on the first-edition OS map of 1837. The morphology of the site suggests that it is the remains of a univallate ringfort. The line of a recently constructed pathway at the Abbeytown quarry skirts the north-eastern quadrant of the enclosure and heads towards the ruins of St Fechin's Church (SMR 20:109(01)) on a north-west to south-east axis, then turns abruptly to the south-west and terminates parallel to the north-west boundary wall of graveyard SMR 20:109(02). Testing was required along the line of the pathway adjacent to the enclosure to determine the level of impact from its construction. Testing took the form of the excavation of a single 30m-long strip trench directly along the line of the pathway adjacent to the enclosure.

A concrete-post fence had been constructed on the western side of the pathway (i.e. adjacent to the enclosure) and the cutting was positioned along the centre of the pathway to avoid destabilising the fence posts. The construction of the pathway and fence eliminated any margin around the eastern side of the remains of the enclosure and it was not possible to excavate on the western side of the pathway without damaging the monument. The trial cutting followed a curving line on a broadly north-west to south-east axis. It was located 20m north-west of a much larger trial cutting excavated along the eastern side of the pathway in order to determine the location of middens SMR 20:109(07) (see Excavations 2004, Kilboglashy, 04E1472).

The cutting measured 30m long by 1.35m wide by up to 0.5m deep. The limestone chippings of the pathway were mechanically excavated by a tracked mini-digger fitted with a 1.4m-wide flat-edged ditching bucket. No topsoil was encountered. The limestone chippings were deposited directly on the surface of the subsoil in a layer typically 0.15m deep. The subsoil consisted of grey/brown silty clay containing gravel and several concentrations of medium to large limestones. No features or artefacts of archaeological significance were discovered.

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