2007:1156 - RATHCRONIN, Granard, Longford

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Longford Site name: RATHCRONIN, Granard

Sites and Monuments Record No.: LF010–010 Licence number: 06E0781; E2838

Author: Declan Moore, Moore Archaeological & Environmental Services Ltd.

Site type: Enclosure and Structure

Period/Dating: Undetermined

ITM: E 629983m, N 781767m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.784615, -7.545024

Testing was carried out at Rathcronin, Granard, Co. Longford, in February 2007. The proposed development entails the construction of 111 houses. The development is beside LF010–080(01–02), a national monument. A request for further information relating to the application required the applicant to carry out an archaeological assessment of the site to include the excavation of test-trenches.

The work was commissioned in order to determine the archaeological potential of the area, to determine how the archaeological resource would be affected by the proposed development and to ground-truth the results of a previously conducted geophysical survey.

Twelve test-trenches were excavated throughout the site. These trenches were excavated in both a north–south and an east–west orientation. A number of the geophysical anomalies were subsequently identified as natural geological features.

Two possible archaeological features were also identified. The first of these was a portion of a possible subrectangular enclosure measuring c. 30m by 23m. The second feature was a series of possible post- and stake-holes. Although no datable material was recovered from either of these features, their form and nature appeared to indicate that they were of archaeological significance and warrant further investigation.

Corporate House, Ballybrit Business Park, Ballybrit, Galway