2005:334 - KILMONASTER MIDDLE, Donegal

Pre-development testing was carried out on 18 July 2005 at a site in advance of its development at Kilmonaster Middle townland, Ballindrait, Co. Donegal. The proposed development, which consisted of the construction of a silage pit, dung pit, effluent containment tank and dry-bed cattle shed, was located within the constraint area for an archaeological complex, the Kilmonaster Passage Tomb cemetery. The nearest monument of the complex, a passage tomb, was 5m from the proposed containment tank. The cattle shed was 24m from the same monument. As the groundworks involved in the construction of the cattle shed consisted of four pits (1m by 1m by 1m deep) located along one side of the proposed structure, it was decided to concentrate the test-trenches at the proposed containment tank location.
Three trenches were excavated, which measured 16.3m, 33m and 36.3m long, 0.9–1.3m wide and 0.1–1m deep. Below the topsoil were fill, grey/brown friable silt loam, orange/brown loose loamy sand and bedrock. A number of modern pottery sherds and one worked piece of flint were found in the topsoil. The fill consisted of soil and rocks and was located along the line of a field boundary. The friable silt loam contained a small number of animal bone fragments (from a calf) at c. 0.3m below the surface. The loamy sand was sterile.
The landowner had informed me prior to the testing that livestock had been buried along this field boundary in years gone by, so the finding of bone was not a surprise. The stray find of worked flint in the topsoil was also not surprising, considering the proximity of the passage tomb.