2006:1720 - Cootehall, Roscommon

Pre-development testing was carried out on the site of a proposed housing development at Cootehall, Co. Roscommon, on 19–20 December 2006. The site comprises a large triangular field surrounded by roads on all sides and is in the vicinity of a castle. It forms a natural focal point for the village. Eight trenches, averaging 125m in length, were opened. Along the eastern edge of the site the topsoil cover was very thin, averaging just 0.1m in thickness, and generally overlay limestone rock outcrop. Elsewhere the topsoil had an average depth of 0.2m and overlay light-orange/brown sandy subsoil. This stratigraphic sequence was remarkably consistent across the site. It was also noted that the topsoil was quite sterile with very few inclusions and, despite an extensive programme of testing, only a handful of finds were recovered. These comprised post-medieval and modern pottery sherds and glass fragments. This would seem to suggest little or no agricultural activity in the area other than livestock grazing. No archaeological material was uncovered.