County: Leitrim Site name: CLOONCOE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: LE036–009 Licence number: 03E1761 ext.
Author: Christopher Read, North West Archaeological Services
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 610405m, N 792146m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.878640, -7.841745
The site of the proposed development is located in Clooncoe townland on the site of Lough Rynn Demesne, Mohill, Co. Leitrim. The site comprised the construction of a roadway, 450m long by 5m wide, as part of the larger golf-course development, the monitoring of which by the author (Excavations 2005, No. 946) revealed over fifty archaeological sites, including eleven fulachta fiadh, two prehistoric structures and numerous burnt spreads, ditches and pits.
The road will run over a small hillock, currently tree-covered, joining two minor county roads. The proposed road is located to the south-west of Lough Errew and is close to LE036–009 (possible megalithic tomb). At its closest point, the monument is situated 80m to the north-east of the proposed roadway. A 20m buffer zone, defined by post and wire fencing, is in place around the monument.
A centreline trench, measuring c. 430m long and 1.7m wide, was excavated the full length of the proposed road, with the exception of those areas at either end, as it would involve excavating through the existing roads. This trench was orientated roughly north-west/south-east at its northern end, switching to roughly east–west towards its southern end. Ten spur trenches, 6m long and 1.7m wide, were excavated at regular intervals, covering the full width of the proposed road.
With the exception of a single small cut feature, there was no evidence of archaeological remains in any of the trenches excavated. All trenches were excavated to depths of 0.3–0.5m. The feature was located within the centreline trench, 90m from the northern end of the proposed road. It was oval in shape, orientated roughly east–west, and measured 0.32m by 0.2m. Given the small size of the feature and the lack of other archaeological remains, it was fully excavated. It consisted of an irregular cut with steep sides and an uneven bottom. Its depth ranged between 0.04 and 0.09m. It was filled with a black, charcoal-enriched soil and a single fragment of heat-shattered sandstone. The feature was not sampled. All further excavation associated with the road construction was monitored, with negative results.
Cloonfad Cottage, Cloonfad, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim
