2005:1114 - CLOONAGHBOY, Mayo

This excavation was carried out in advance of the construction of the N5 Charlestown bypass. The site was located at the eastern end of an elevated glacial ridge, which was higher to the west. This location allowed commanding views to the north, east and south. The western view was clear from the higher ground.

This enclosure is clearly marked on the first-edition 6-inch OS map with a road cutting the enclosing element across the northern side of the site. However, there were no visible elements above the modern ground surface. The excavation identified the disturbed remains of a bivallate ringfort with a drystone souterrain.

The internal area of the ringfort was slightly oval in plan, measuring 35m east–west by 33m. The inner ditch had steep sides and a concave base. It measured 3m wide at the top by 1.25m deep, with stepped sides in places. Traces of modern digger teeth were visible in the sides of this ditch indicating recent disturbance.

The outer ditch also had steep sides and a concave base. It had average dimensions of 1.5m wide at the top by 1m deep. The ditches were roughly concentric, varying from 0.15 to 2.3m apart, from the north-north-west through the west and south to the south-eastern quadrant, where they merged into a single ditch. This ditch was no longer discernible in the north-eastern quadrant of the fort where subsequent field boundaries and an old road were constructed, which caused a lot of disturbance. An extension to the north-east of the excavation beyond the disturbed area identified the north-east extent of the inner and outer ditches, which merged into one ditch to the north-east.

The ditches were filled with layers of sand and clay, mostly redeposited natural. The only finds from the ditch fills were a small amount of iron slag. A plano-convex knife was found in a disturbed context where the outer ditch had been cut by a furrow.

The ringfort was intensively disturbed over a prolonged period. The earliest recorded disturbance was the construction of the road depicted on the first-edition 6-inch OS map, surveyed in the late 1830s. Here the northern side of the enclosing ditches were severely truncated. One section of road surface, an 8m long by 7m wide layer of rough cobbles, was identified. This cobbled area was ploughed and spread, so the original width of the road was substantially less than the 7m now present.

Several phases of quarrying, field boundary construction, ploughing and clearance were evident throughout the ringfort. Tracks of mechanical digger teeth across the entire site represent the final phase of its destruction. The remains of only one internal archaeological feature, a souterrain, survived.

This souterrain was situated in the north of the interior. Its construction trench had maximum dimensions of 8m long by 1.7m wide by 1.3m deep. This trench had roughly coursed drystone walls on both sides, with a maximum of ten courses surviving in situ. The souterrain was filled with mid- to dark-brown sandy clay layers which had sealed inclusions of charcoal and animal bone. The upper levels had been disturbed by the road which cut through the ringfort, so no roof or capstones survived. Two post-holes were identified at the northern end of the souterrain, possibly representing an entrance feature. The fills of these post-holes and the souterrain included charcoal that should be suitable for dating. Artefacts found in association with the souterrain include a quernstone, a bone pin and a corroded iron artefact, which may be a knife. A fragment of another quernstone was retrieved from a nearby disturbed context.

Westport Road, Castlebar, Co. Mayo