2005:1350 - SCREGG, Roscommon

Excavations at a small development site in Scregg, Co. Roscommon, took place on the 25 January 2005. Four test-trenches were excavated across the footprint of the development, which consists of a single fully serviced dwelling, septic tank and entrance drive. The proposed site is contained within a small field surrounded on all sides by drystone walls. A number of small trees line the western and northern boundaries and a small by-road forms the eastern boundary. The south-western corner of the field is covered in vegetation and rotting trees. The trees and some old building material mark the location of a dwelling that was demolished some time in the 1930s.
Two monuments lie within 75m of the proposed dwelling house. A possible wedge tomb (SMR 42:90) is located c. 50m to the east of the site. A large, well-preserved ringfort (SMR 42:89) lies c. 75m to the west of the western boundary of the proposed site. The ringfort is located downslope from the development site.
Pre-development testing at the site revealed a relatively uniform stratigraphy. A brown/grey sandy silty topsoil ranged from between 0.3 and 0.4m in depth and was underlain by an orange/brown sandy silty subsoil. A stone dump noted at the southern end of Trench 2 may have been associated with the levelling of a stone wall which lined the entrance to a previous dwelling located in the south-western corner of the site. Building rubble noted at the southern end of Trench 3 was also related to this abandoned and demolished dwelling.