County: Galway Site name: COOLOLLA
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A024/4.5
Author: Julianna O’Donoghue, Eachtra Archaeological Projects
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 579088m, N 728696m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.308134, -8.313771
The assessment including test excavation was carried out before the construction of the proposed N6 Galway–Ballinasloe road scheme. The proposed scheme will be a dual carriageway, 56km in length, extending from the east side of Galway city, at Doughiska, to the east side of Ballinasloe, at Beagh Brabazon, in Co. Roscommon. The assessment was undertaken for Galway County Council and the National Roads Authority and forms part of a wider assessment of c. 15km of the proposed N6 dual carriageway (Contract 4).
The area tested lies within the northern part of the battlefield of the Battle of Aughrim, which took place in 1691. The causeway or road which connected Aughrim to Ballinasloe is situated c. 320m south of this area.
The aim of testing was to locate the geophysical anomalies identified by geophysical survey (ArchaeoPhysica 2004) and to establish their nature, extent and significance. In the survey, the anomalies were interpreted as possible ditch fills, an island within the peat, and the transition between dry heavily cultivated ground to the west and drained bog to the east separated by a possible ditch and/or masonry wall. Six trenches were excavated.
A ditch corresponding with one of the descriptions in the geophysical survey was uncovered in Trenches 1 and 9; it was orientated from north-east to south-west and measured 1.5m wide by 1m deep. The ‘island within the peat’ was revealed in Trenches 1, 5 and 6 as a natural ridge running across the field. The subsoil along the ridge is brownish-orange clay with limestone bedrock protruding. The ditch/masonry wall was identifiable from the surface and was tested in Trench 1. It consisted of a partly silted-up field drain, with a stone revetment on the western side. Narrow furrows running north-west/south-east were found in most of the trenches in the eastern half of the field. This is at variance with the direction of cultivation indicated on the geophysical survey.
Two small burnt deposits were recorded in Trench 4, which were not identified in the geophysical survey. Both features were roughly circular in plan, had diameters of 0.25m and 0.12m and were 1m apart. The spreads consisted of dark-brown clay silt with frequent inclusions of charcoal flecks. A section excavated on both features revealed a depth of 0.1m. No adjacent archaeological features were identified.
The features identified in the geophysical survey were recorded during centre-line testing. These were found to be agricultural in origin and were not of archaeological significance. Two burnt deposits which did not appear on the geophysical survey were recorded in Trench 4. There were no other archaeological features in this area and no archaeological artefacts were found.
Reference
ArchaeoPhysica 2004 N6 Galway to East Ballinasloe geophysical survey report. Unpublished report lodged with the DoEHLG.
Ballycurreen Industrial Estate, Kinsale Road, Cork
