2005:624 - LOUGHBOWN, Galway

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 archaeological assessment of c. 15km of the proposed N6 dual carriageway (Contract 4).

The enclosure is located 3km east of the village of Aughrim. The monument has been badly damaged by recent land improvement works and prior to assessment presented as a series of earthen banks and mounds forming a roughly circular area. A thorn tree is located at the approximate centre of the monument. Just over 50% of the standing features (the southern half) lie within the line of the CPO. Initial test excavations on the site of the enclosure were undertaken by Martin Jones over a four-day period in December 2003 (Excavations 2003, No. 736, 03E1872).

The assessment of the site consisted of the stripping of a large L-shaped area around the site of the enclosure. The sod and topsoil were removed to reveal archaeological deposits or, in their absence, the underlying subsoil, which changes from an orange/brown silty sandy clay and loose grey sand with small to medium stones on the higher ground to an orange sandy silt or blue/light-brown sandy silty clay on the lower ground. Three areas of archaeological significance were noted within the large stripped area.

In Area 1, located on the highest point to the west of the stripped area, a possible 19th-century structure that measures 9m north–south by 5m was uncovered. The foundations of a rectangular building located on the high ground in the eastern half of the stripped area appear to correlate with structures shown on the first-edition OS map. The dressed cut stone suggest that the building may have been a dwelling, outhouse or shed; farm buildings with high-quality dressings are not uncommon on the former 18th- and 19th-century estate lands of east Galway.

Area 2 consists of the enclosure, measuring c. 40m in diameter, comprising a well-defined, slightly curved bank, an outer bank and an irregular mound. The possible outer bank was noted after topsoil-stripping and cleaning. It consists of a 2–3m-wide band of compact orange silty clay, possibly residual subsoil under the footprint of the former bank.

A trench 20m long and 2m wide was opened by machine along the line of the CPO (east–west) and over the irregular mound and the line of the possible outer bank. Generally the stratigraphy across the mound consisted of orange sandy silt, underlying a brown silty clay, underlying a grey gravel deposit, which underlies the topsoil. Towards the western end of the trench a bank was noted in section. The bank was 1.5m wide and consisted of compact orange silty clay. An external ditch was noted cut into the blue/light-brown silty sandy clay subsoil. The ditch was 2.6m wide and filled with an orange/brown silty sand. The bank noted in section corresponds with the possible outer bank noted elsewhere across the stripped area. A second trench was machine-excavated over the possible inner bank in Area 2. The trench was 7m long and 2m wide. The bank, in this trench, was composed of grey gravel mixed throughout with small to medium stones.
Area 3 is located in the eastern portion of the stripped area outside the line of the enclosing outer bank. A series of possible furrows, up to 0.75m apart, aligned north-east/south-west, run across the area, with some perpendicular furrows. Two pits, both filled with black silt, two spreads with slag, and one additional spread were uncovered. A possible ironworking area to the west of the enclosure was identified. A series of pits and spreads containing black silty clay, animal bone and iron slag were recorded. One of the spreads had a heavy concentration of iron slag; this activity may be associated with the building to the east of the enclosure.

Ballycurreen Industrial Estate, Kinsale Road, Cork