County: Galway Site name: MACKNEY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A024/4.14
Author: John Tierney, Eachtra Archaeological Projects
Site type: Enclosure and Habitation site
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 583089m, N 729236m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.313128, -8.253765
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 site is situated 5km north-east of Aughrim and 1.5km south-west of Ballinasloe. A ringfort was observed in the southern half of the field during initial field-walking for the N6 route (RPS-MCOS. 2004). Test excavations at and adjacent to the enclosure were undertaken by Martin Jones (Excavations 2004, No. 703, 04E0866) and by Finn Delaney (see No. 630, Excavations 2005, A024/4.16). Site A024/4.14 consists of the area around site A024/4.16.
The aim of testing was to locate anomalies identified in the geophysical survey (ArchaeoPhysica 2004) and to establish their nature, extent and significance. In the survey cultivation furrows orientated roughly north–south, possible buildings located close to the existing buildings (to the west) and possible ploughed-out field boundaries were noted. However, this identification remains uncertain. The enclosure did not produce a geophysical signature.
Ten test-trenches were excavated. The features uncovered in these trenches consisted mainly of linear features, pits and spreads, with a possible wall foundation running north-north-east/south-south-west also present. This may be what is labelled as a ‘weak linear anomaly perhaps a former field boundary’ in the survey (ArchaeoPhysica 2004). The spread uncovered in Trench 8 may be one of ‘Two arcs of enhanced magnetic gradient, may be ditch fills’. A large ditch was uncovered at the south end of Trench 9; this is c. 2.2m in width, is orientated from north-east to south-west and was detected in the geophysical survey. A possible ‘former field boundary’ identified in the survey was uncovered during testing in Trench 3.
Test excavations also revealed two pit groups (in the north-east and north-west corners of the field) and a series of narrow, linear ditches which traversed the field. One of the ditches cut through the pit group in the north-west corner of the field. The north-east group consists of three pits (c. 0.6m in diameter) lying within 2–3m of one another and c. 2m away from a larger pit/spread to the north. The north-west group consists of five pits (c. 1m in diameter), which are partially cut through by a later, archaeological, linear ditch orientated in a north-west/south-east direction, and measures c. 0.8m in width. Similar ditches were noted elsewhere in this field and it was decided to excavate the ditch in detail here in order to determine the stratigraphic relationships with the pit group.
The two pit groups and ditches will be subjected to further investigation.
References
ArchaeoPhysica 2004 N6 Galway to East Ballinasloe geophysical survey report. Unpublished report lodged with the DoEHLG.
RPS-MCOS. 2004 N6 Galway to East Ballinasloe Environmental Impact Statement. RPS-MCOS Report 0401.
Ballycurreen Industrial Estate, Kinsale Road, Cork
