2008:885 - Breaghwy, Mayo

Testing was carried out at Breaghwy, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, in July 2008. The proposed development involved the construction of a dwelling house, septic tank and percolation area within the zone of archaeological potential for MA079–032, a chapel. Testing involved the mechanical excavation of five parallel trenches running north-north-west/south-south-east through the proposed plot. The trenches measured from between 30m to 40m in length with an average depth of 0.4m. Excavation exposed a silty clay subsoil overlying a compact natural marly clay with frequent stones. The ground was peatier in the less well-drained area to the south along the roadway. Nothing of archaeological significance was evident throughout the site. The only artificial impacts consisted of a French drain, a 20th-century refuse pit and the remains of a modern rough metalled surface. Finds included an assortment of ferric litter, broken bottles and pottery and agricultural debris. There were no subsurface stone foundations or iron slag deposits that may indicate the presence of the chapel or smithy as recorded in the first-edition 6-inch OS map.