County: Galway Site name: Terryland Castle, Galway
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: C316; E3967
Author: Caoimhe Ní Thóibín, Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd, Unit 1 Wallingstown Business Park, Little Island, Co. Cork.
Site type: Fortified house and bawn
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 529515m, N 726606m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.285079, -9.057046
Ten test-trenches were excavated both within and outside the limits of the remains of Terryland Castle and bawn, Co. Galway. These uncovered further portions of walling but no other significant archaeological features. Buried portions of both the bawn wall and the main castle structure were also exposed.
All the walls were constructed with cut and uncut stone and bonded using lime mortar. The castle walls were well built, mostly using cut stone, while the bawn had a more (at present) unstable mixture of cut and uncut stone.
An initial investigation into the bawn itself was undertaken through Trenches 7 and 8. These uncovered a slot-trench with possible packing stones, potential floor surface, organic-rich spreads and part of a possible boundary ditch separating the bawn from the River Corrib flowing to the west. It is most probable that further investigation into this portion of the site would further uncover archaeological features.
