County: Roscommon Site name: CHANTERLAND OR WINDMILLPARK
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 16:124 Licence number: 05E0693
Author: Richard Crumlish, 4 Lecka Grove, Castlebar Road, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo.
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 586102m, N 788796m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.848454, -8.211207
Pre-development testing was carried out on 23 and 24 June 2005 at a site in advance of its development at Chanterland or Windmillpark townland, Elphin, Co. Roscommon. A portion of the proposed development site was located within the constraint area for a ringfort. The proposed development consisted of the construction of 51 houses, connection to public utilities and all ancillary works. It respected a 20m buffer zone around the monument, of which little remained visible in the neighbouring field to the north.
Five trenches were excavated to best cover the area of the proposed development. The trenches measured 79.2m, 130.8m, 99.5m, 68.4m and 110.8m long, 1–1.3m wide and 0.3–0.8m deep. Below the topsoil were sterile natural subsoils (blue/grey/brown firm/plastic clay and orange/brown firm clay loam), bedrock and a small area of fill, which consisted of rocks, topsoil, subsoil, trees and branches and contained the base of a modern bottle (Cantrell and Cochrane, founded in Belfast in 1852). A number of modern field drains were exposed. The topsoil contained modern artefacts only. The testing revealed nothing of archaeological significance.
