County: Carlow Site name: Lavagh/Fortland
Sites and Monuments Record No.: - Licence number: 06E0616
Author: Carmel Duffy, Umberstown Great, Summerhill, Co. Meath.
Site type: Possible Bronze Age pit
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 644941m, N 786415m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.825303, -7.317390
Testing was undertaken of a site at Lavagh/Fortland, Cavan, as part of an assessment.
The site is located on the northern shore of Lough Sheelin. The owner proposes to erect five holiday homes on the site. Seven trenches were excavated. Six of them did not disclose material of an archaeological nature.
Trench 4 measured 10m by 2m and contained 0.35m of sod and dark-brown silty clay topsoil over 0.2m red/brown silty clay subsoil. At 10m from the northern end, and 1.5m from the west side of the trench, the machine uncovered the top of a roughly circular pit-like feature, 0.8m in diameter. The pit contained 0.05m of orange silt over 0.1m of grey/brown/black silt, with occasional charcoal flecks. The floor of the pit was grey, silt subsoil and the cut was an irregular conical shape. This pit was possibly archaeological in nature. It may have been pyrotechnic. However, the stone and charcoal inclusions were occasional. It could have resulted from a natural forest fire. The cut was irregular and may have been caused by the bole of a tree, rather than a man-made cut.
The trench was extended in an L shape, measuring 6m east–west by 4m, and to the east of the feature to determine if there were other features in the vicinity. The trench extension contained no further features.
