2006:767 - CARNMORE WEST, Galway

Excavation was carried out as part of Phase 2 of the proposed N6 Galway to Ballinasloe scheme, Contract 1 (Doughiska to Ballygarraun South), on behalf of Galway County Council, funded by the NRA under the national development plan 2000–2006. The scheme number for the project was A024. The sub-scheme number for Carnmore West was A024/6.

The site was identified by the writer during Phase 1 test-trenching and was identified as a stone-built enclosure with associated annexe, barrow, rectangular structure and animal well. It was recommended that all areas uncovered during testing should be fully excavated. Two additional enclosures were visible c. 150m to the north, off the line of the road scheme. The excavated enclosure is located at the junction of three townlands, Carnmore West, Glennasaul and Frenchfort.

During Phase 2 excavation works the site was divided into a number of areas.

Area A comprised a large cashel, roughly 55m in diameter, with associated sub-oval annexe measuring 50m east–west by 45m. Only the southern two-thirds of the cashel lay within the area under CPO; the remainder was to be preserved in situ. The cashel walls were constructed using two rows of large limestone blocks with a rubble core. The outer face contained large stones with a more regular facing than the interior. Along the eastern side of the cashel there were three rows of large limestones with two separate cores. Two walls extended into the cashel interior from the east and west sides and may have represented access on to the walls or have been the remains of demolished buildings. An entrance from the annexe into the cashel was visible on the south-east side. Two post-holes were cut into bedrock at the entrance and a small uneven cobbled surface was recorded.

There were very few features excavated in the cashel interior. These included a small number of randomly distributed pits and post-holes. At the extreme northern edge of the excavation a pit-drop entrance to a souterrain was uncovered, with possible steps along the eastern side. This entrance had entirely silted up and a horse skeleton was excavated close to the top of the fill, suggesting it was a much more recent addition. Adjacent to the entrance a square-cut hearth was cut into bedrock. The souterrain extended to the north and was therefore not excavated, as it lay beyond the area under CPO. The souterrain was cut through the earth and the underlying bedrock. The passageway was unrestricted, with a maximum height of roughly 2m. The walls were of drystone construction overlying cut bedrock. In some places clay had been used as a crude mortaring element in the walls. The ceiling was corbelled, with lintels measuring up to 3m in length. The passageway extended for roughly 15m before taking a right turn into a dead end with no apparent chamber. A possible bench was located at the rear of the passage. The souterrain is to be backfilled with a suitable material to prevent collapse from the passage of heavy traffic.

The annexe extended to the south of the cashel. It was constructed from two rows of limestone blocks with a rubble core. A small entrance was located on the western side at the annexe and cashel wall junction, although this would only have been wide enough for people or possibly cattle. The eastern portion of the annexe wall had been removed, suggesting that any larger entrance (if present) would have been located here.

Area B was located roughly 30m to the west of the annexe in Area A. It consisted of two keyhole/dumbbell-shaped kilns that had been truncated by a large L-shaped kiln. This later kiln had a drystone-built drying chamber and the flue was constructed with lintels and uprights of limestone. The remains of a circular structure were located around the later L-shaped kiln, with an entrance visible on the eastern side, adjacent to the firing chamber. The wall construction was similar to the annexe, with two rows of limestone and a rubble core. The structure measured 6.5m by 7m. No internal features, apart from the kilns, were evident in the structure interior, suggesting it was not roofed.

Area C comprised a U-shaped drystone-built, structure 12m by 9m, with an entrance on the southern side. Only a single course of the wall remained, with the stone possibly being robbed to make the drystone field walls of the surrounding landscape, as there was very little collapsed material. Only one feature was evident in the area, a large pit or natural feature filled with a dark-blue/grey alluvial clay, completely foreign to the surrounding silty sand natural and limestone bedrock. Specialist analysis is being undertaken to determine the deposition method of this material. The area is initially interpreted as the remains of an early animal well.

A second, much larger, animal well was located in Area D. This was cut into bedrock to a depth of 4.5m. A ramp led down to a concrete trough, which easily retained water. The presence of concrete in its construction gave the feature a 20th-century date and was therefore non-archaeological.

Area E contained collapsed field walls that extended across the site and into the area to the north and south. This field system seemed to link the three enclosures in the area but also seemed to be associated with a ridge and furrow system. The ridge and furrow respected modern field boundaries, suggesting a later date than the excavated cashel. At present it is uncertain as to when the field system dates.

Area F comprised a test-trenching area that was to be undertaken during Phase 2 at the eastern end of site A024/6. Nothing of an archaeological nature was uncovered during the testing.

Brehon House, Kilkenny Road, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny