County: Galway Site name: MACKNEY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A024/4.24
Author: John Tierney, Eachtra Archaeological Projects
Site type: Structure, Hearth and Pit
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
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 located 4.5km north-east of Aughrim and 2km south-west of Ballinasloe. The topsoil is dark-brown clayey silt 0.4m in depth and the subsoil is whitish-yellow sandy clay with pockets of whitish sand. Nine test-trenches were excavated; archaeology was uncovered in three of these, Trenches 2, 4, and 6.
In Trench 4, five pits (F.1, 2, 5, 6 and 8), three post-holes (F.3, 4 and 9), and one possible hearth were uncovered. Two of the pits, F.1 and F.2, were partially excavated. F.1 had a primary fill of very dark brown sandy silt which had then been covered by lighter brown, pebbly sandy silt. Nothing indicative of date was recovered. Initially suspected to be a post-hole, F.2 (north of pit F.1) was tested as a typical representation of these features. It was found to be a small pit of not more than 0.35m depth remaining. The cut was bowl-shaped and poorly defined and contained a single fill covering a saddle quern. The saddle quern was removed. A number of sherds of blackened coarseware were recovered from F.6. Features 3, 4, and 9, the possible post-holes, were aligned roughly north to south and may be part of the remains of a structure of some kind. It is not obvious in which direction the ‘interior’ of this possible structure is located. The possible hearth was located to the north of the other features. It is possible that the hearth was being used to dry the grain to allow easier grinding on the saddle quern.
Three pits were recorded within Trench 6 and a scorched area 1m in diameter (possibly a hearth) was identified in Trench 2. These features were not tested.
Ballycurreen Industrial Estate, Kinsale Road, Cork
