2006:1765 - Carrowmore, Sligo

Archaeological work was undertaken in the area of a proposed pedestrian crossing and access path to the monuments on the north side of the roadway, opposite the visitor centre at Carrowmore, Sligo. The works were part of an overall scheme which has involved the construction of an extension to the visitor centre at Carrowmore. The area required for the pedestrian crossing included the roadside bank/wall and an L-shaped area immediately inside this wall. The bank material and topsoil were removed by a mechanical excavator, with the remainder of the site excavated manually in August/September 2006.
Monitoring the removal of the roadside bank revealed a large boulder sitting in a sandy clay below the mixed bank material. The boulder as revealed measured 1.4m by 1.2m by 0.68m high. Other large boulders are visible along the roadside bank to the east and it is possible that these boulders originated in the nearby tombs and were later used in the roadside bank. Removal of the large boulder revealed a socket 1.2m by 1.8m and 0.9m deep. Three fragments of ceramic ware and one glass fragment recovered from the socket indicate that the boulder was located here in the 19th or 20th century. Excavation of the L-shaped area (8m long by 4.5m wide) immediately north-west of the boulder revealed a grey mixed sandy topsoil which overlay a light-brown sandy clay. A spread of angular stones (1.15m by 0.4m) was uncovered 0.8m south-west of the boulder. The stones were found to be the upper fill of a large cut, 1.28m by 0.55m and 0.36m deep. A small amount of charcoal was recovered from the fill and may help in dating the feature. No other features or artefacts of archaeological significance were encountered in the course of the excavations.