County: Galway Site name: RAHALLY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: GA086-213 Licence number: A024/3.8
Author: Gerry Mullins, CRDS Ltd.
Site type: Field system and Enclosure
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 561986m, N 724827m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.272413, -8.569911
Soil-stripping was carried out at Rahally under ministerial directions. The work was commissioned by the Galway County Council National Roads Design Office and sponsored by the National Roads Authority. Soil-stripping of the site was recommended following manual testing by Martin Jones in 2003 (Excavations 2003, No. 751, 03E1871) and machine testing by Jerry O’Sullivan in 2004 (Excavations 2004, No. 706, 04E0803).
The site is situated on a hillside with a northern aspect, 1.75km south-east of the Raford River. The land in the immediate vicinity is well-drained pasture. Some marshland is visible from the hill. Rahally commands a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside.
A bivallate ringfort (SMR 86:211) is situated on the hill summit to the south and outside the road corridor. The remains of a second ringfort (SMR 86:089) are located on a hilltop about 0.75km away. An early field system (SMR 86:213) straddles the route of the proposed road corridor. SMR 86:211 will not be directly impacted upon but the development will impact on c. 30% of the field system. The road will be cut into the hillside causing a 100% impact on all archaeological features and deposits lying within its corridor.
Forty-three features were revealed during soil-stripping of some 7400m2 of ground, indicating three phases of activity: potentially prehistoric, medieval and modern. The principal feature identified was a large ditch cut, which may form part of a larger enclosure circling the hill on which the ringfort is located. Other features include burnt spreads, hearths, stake- and post-holes, a drain, and linear features of unknown function.
The potentially prehistoric curvilinear ditch is stratigraphically the earliest feature on site. It is generally oriented east–west and measures 116m in length. The average width is 3.8m with a depth of up to 1.05m. The ditch extends beneath the eastern and western banks of the field system. Sixteen fills were identified, one of which was charcoal-rich and provided a sample which has been submitted for radiocarbon dating.
Other features have been dated to the medieval period because of their stratigraphic and locational relationship to one another and to the underlying features, the early field system, burnt spreads, possible stake- and post-holes, pits, drain and linear features. A number of the features are located on the western side of the field system bank. These are found directly north of the ringfort SMR 86:211 and are located in the area enclosed by the field system.
A large fragment of a copper alloy artefact was recovered during testing. It was located in subsoil near the south-western corner of the stripped area. The artefact measures 100mm by 7mm by 4mm. It may be a piece of horse harness, possibly broken from a basic type curb bit. In addition, seven sherds of patterned modern domestic ceramics were recovered from topsoil at the southern extremity of the site.
The landowner mentioned a local tradition referring to a ‘tunnel’ on the site, though no souterrain was located during soil-stripping. The owner also stated that the ‘standing stones’ towards the north-east, clearly visible from the stripped area, were used as mass rocks. He also stated that the adjacent ringfort had been used as a cillín in the past.
Unit 4, Dundrum Business Park, Dundrum, Dublin 14
