County: Galway Site name: ORANMORE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 05E1205
Author: Fiona Rooney, Arch Consultancy Ltd.
Site type: Kiln
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 538629m, N 724612m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.268300, -8.920000
Monitoring of a hotel development in Oranmore town revealed a stone-lined kiln feature in the north-west of the site. Removal of topsoil revealed a crescent-shaped feature consisting of roughly circular terminals joined by a curved trench. The site represented a kiln with a stone-lined circular bowl in the south, which was joined by a stone-lined curved flue in the centre. The flue opened out to an irregular-shaped pit feature in the north. The bowl measured 1.3m by 1.2m at the base and c. 1.5m in diameter at the top. It was constructed of drystone walling comprised of four roughly lain courses of irregular-shaped uncut limestone. The floor was natural boulder clay. The flue was a narrow curving passage that extended for a length of 2.3m and was 0.75m wide. The side walls consisted of upright stones, 0.6m high and 0.35m wide. Two stones recovered in the course of monitoring appeared to have been capstones that covered the flue. No further capstones were recovered in the course of excavations. Evidence of burnt clay and charcoal fragments was recovered from the base of the flue and will help in dating the feature.
Ballydavid South, Athenry, Co. Galway
