County: Galway Site name: LISS
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 06E0556 ext.
Author: Ellinor Larsson, Moore Group
Site type: Ringfort - cashel
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 528250m, N 746265m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.461556, -9.080469
An extension to a programme of testing was carried out at Liss, Headford, Co. Galway, in October 2006 on behalf of Galway County Council. The testing was carried out in June 2006 by Eoghan Kieran in advance of the construction of a reservoir tower site which was to be enclosed by a drystone wall (see No. 816, Excavations 2006). As part of the initial assessment, a previously unknown monument was identified within the area of the proposed development and a programme of testing was designed to determine how the proposed works would affect this. In the initial phase of the testing programme, it was concluded that the feature constituted the remains of a small stone cashel. As the enclosing drystone wall was proposed to cross the southern extent of this monument, the excavation of a hand-dug test-trench in the line of the foundation trench of the wall was carried out to assess the impact on this.
The test-trench was excavated across the surface of the monument at a length of 21m by 0.9m in width and to a maximum depth of 0.2m, which did not exceed the depth of the topsoil. A number of stones, which may have been part of the wall of the cashel, were identified in the topsoil. No archaeological finds or features were identified within the test-trench. It was concluded from the testing that the enclosing wall of the site would, due to the limited depth of its foundation trench, have no direct impact on the monument.
Corporate House, Ballybrit Business Park, Galway
