County: Mayo Site name: Bellanaloob
Sites and Monuments Record No.: MA100–135 Licence number: 07E0307
Author: Richard Crumlish, 4 Lecka Grove, Castlebar Road, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo.
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 523800m, N 773792m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.708255, -9.154184
Pre-development testing was carried out on 26 and 27 April 2007 at a site in Bellanaloob, Robeen, Co. Mayo. The proposed development, the construction of a dwelling house and garage in a relatively flat pasture field, was located within the archaeological constraint for an enclosure located in the field to the north and which had been truncated by the public road to the east.
Testing consisted of the excavation (by machine) of five trenches which measured 26m, 40.9m, 25m, 35.1m and 11.5m long respectively, 1.5–1.9m wide and 0.1–0.7m deep. Below the topsoil was orange/grey/brown friable-firm–clay loam, grey loose loamy sand, orange/grey/brown friable silt loam and grey friable sandy loam. The topsoil contained modern pottery sherds and red-brick fragments. All of the subsoils contained moderate–frequent limestone boulders. The skeleton of an animal, either a pony or a donkey, was uncovered in one of the trenches.
Testing revealed natural undisturbed stratigraphy and nothing of archaeological significance.
