2006:1449 - DRUMSHINNAGH, Mayo

Two fulachta fiadh c. 20m apart were discovered in Drumshinnagh, Castlebar, at the edge of an area of peat at the base of a steep hill on which the site of a windmill (MA078–010) was located. These sites were discovered during monitoring of topsoil removal as part of the Newport road realignment scheme (3km of new road), west of Castlebar, Co. Mayo, under testing licence 05E0699 (see No. 1419, Excavations 2006). These sites are referred to as Drumshinnagh III (111334 289641) and IV (111387 289660) and were excavated in the winter of 2006–7. They were located due east of Drumshinnagh Hill. Two other fulachta fiadh (Drumshinnagh I and II) were discovered west of Drumshinnagh Hill and were excavated under licence 05E1056 (Excavations 2005, No. 1119).

Drumshinnagh III was an irregular spread of compact, heat-fractured sandstone within a charcoal-rich matrix. It measured 7.3m north–south by 9.12m. The site survived to a maximum depth of 0.42m. Stratigraphically the heat-shattered sandstone rested directly on a natural deposit of grey compact boulder clay with frequent large stone inclusions.

Two shallow troughs/boiling pits were found cut into the natural boulder clay. The first of these features (Boiling Pit I) was identified at the eastern side of the site. This relatively steep-sided and flat-bottomed cut measured 0.27m in depth and had a diameter of 1.62m north–south. It was filled with a mixture of burnt stone and peat. The burnt sandstone constituted 25–30% of the fill. A subrectangular piece of wood (0.8m in length, 0.07m in width and 0.04m thick) was found within the fill of the pit at the base.

An oval-shaped trough/boiling pit (Boiling Pit II) was found at the centre of the site 2.2m west of Boiling Pit I. This feature measured 2.25m north–south by 1.38m, with a depth of 0.1–0.27m. It was filled with a mix of burnt sandstone and charcoal. The burnt sandstone constituted 25–30% of the fill. Four pieces of poorly preserved wood, ranging in length from 0.32 to 0.61m, were found within the fill of the boiling pit orientated along the long axis of the cut, two on each side. Excavation revealed two wooden stakes driven into the base of the boiling pit. Both of these stakes were worked to a pencil point. The largest of these was 0.48m in length with a maximum diameter of 0.06m. This stake was located at the south-western end of the boiling pit. A second, smaller, stake located on the north-eastern side of the pit measured c. 0.3m in length with a maximum diameter of 0.04m. Wood from the excavation will be sent to a specialist for further study including species identification and toolmark analysis prior to a date being obtained from a sample.

An interesting feature located at the northern end of the site was a horseshoe-shaped deposit of flat and rounded sandstone cobbles measuring c. 3m north–south by 3m and c. 0.29m high. The concavity between the stone surrounds measured c. 0.8m east–west by c. 1.8m.

Drumshinnagh IV was situated west of Drumshinnagh III. This was a very irregular series of small deposits of burnt sandstone within a charcoal matrix. The overall area of these smaller deposits measured 4.56m north–south by 6.43m. The deposits survived to a maximum depth of 0.08m. The southern part of the site was bounded by a land drainage pipe in a 1.1m-wide trench. An oval-shaped trough/boiling pit was identified cut into the natural boulder clay. It measured 1.89m north–south by 0.85m with a maximum depth of 0.39m.

Coosan, Athlone, Co. Westmeath