2008:571 - Moyveela 3, Galway

Phase 2 excavations along the 27.2km of the N18 Oranmore to Gort (Glenbrack to Rathmorrissey) National Road Scheme were commissioned by Galway County Council and the National Roads Authority.
The site was located c. 300m south of the N6 Galway to Dublin road in a deciduous wooded area in the townland of Moyveela. A minimum of sixteen buildings were surveyed, six of which (on the northern and western edge of the building complex) lay within the road-take. They were primarily rectangular in plan, ranging in size between c. 8m by 4m and c. 5m by 4m. Situated towards the north-west of the clachan lay a possible cashel or enclosing bank. A retaining wall, two storage platforms and a cobbled pathway were also recorded. The building material was primarily carboniferous limestone.
Building 1 measured 8.6m and 6.2m externally, enclosing 23.6m2 of internal floor space. The widths of the walls averaged 1.1m and were constructed of dry limestone. An entrance measuring 0.8m wide was located in the south-east wall. An internal wall was built abutting the north-western wall of Building 1. A pit was recorded on the internal floor of the building.
Building 2, 11.5m by 6.3m, enclosed an internal floor space of 55.65m2. The widths of the walls varied between 0.9m and 1.2m. As with Building 1, the walls were constructed of unmortared limestone. Two opposing entrances were identified in the north-west and south-east walls. Within Building 2 there was evidence for a possible internal divide. An enclosing bank surrounded two-thirds of Building 2.
Building 3 measured 9.6m by 3.7m and enclosed an area of 23m2. The building was constructed with unmortared limestone. Two opposing entrances were evident in the south-east and north-west walls. An internal dividing wall orientated north-west to south-east across the building, partitioned it into two separate rooms at a ratio of 2:1. The access way between the rooms was next to the south-east wall. On the south-western face of this dividing wall was a hearth.
Building 4 was an unmortared limestone structure measuring 2.4m by 3.8m enclosing a space of c. 6.8m2. This was the smallest building on the site, and the construction of the walls differed from the other buildings.
Building 5 was constructed with unmortared limestone walls. It measured 7.8m north-east to south-west by 5m, enclosing an area of 28m2. The entrance to this building may have been in the southern corner. A floor layer, cut by a pit, was recorded in the interior.
Building 6 was located towards the south-west of the site and it consisted of a single wall.
A number of finds were identified, which included slag residue, iron pieces, glass, slate, animal bone, post-medieval pottery and a 1750–1826 Hibernia coin.