County: Roscommon Site name: Taduff East 2
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E003272
Author: Gary Conboy, Valerie J. Keeley Ltd, Brehon House, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny.
Site type: Furnaces
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 598190m, N 739321m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.404027, -8.027205
The site was excavated as part of the N6 Ballinasloe to Athlone national road scheme. Work was commissioned by Galway County Council and funded by the National Roads Authority.
The site consisted of four circular pits, similar in diameter, contained within an area measuring 6.5m by 5.5m. Upon excavation, these pits proved to be the remains of shaft furnaces containing slag and charcoal. The largest of these furnaces had a diameter of 1.45m and a depth of 0.2m. It contained five fills, three of which produced slag and large amounts of charcoal. Two other furnaces had diameters of 1.25m. Each contained three fills that produced slag and much charcoal. Rake-out deposits on the southern edge of each produced additional slag. Two small deposits of redeposited hearth material, found towards the southern limit of the site, also contained slag.
Post-excavation work is ongoing and any interpretations are preliminary.
