2008:907 - Drum, Mayo

Pre-development testing was carried out on 28 and 30 July 2008 at a site at Drum townland, Knock, Co. Mayo, due to the scale of the proposed development. There were no known archaeological monuments in the immediate vicinity of the site. The development consisted of the demolition of a dwelling house and the construction of a 51-bedroom nursing home and twelve associated 1/2-bedroom housing units. The site was located on the north-eastern outskirts of Knock. The north-western half of the site consisted of a large field of pasture. The south-eastern half of the site contained the dwelling, with associated outhouses, barn and gravel yard, to the south-east of which was a recently backfilled area with a large spoil heap located at its north-eastern end.
Testing consisted of the excavation (by machine) of seven trenches located to best cover the area of the proposed development, in those areas which were accessible. The trenches measured 71m, 39.1m, 44.5m, 31m, 9.6m, 9.8m and 25m long respectively, 1.25–2m wide and 0.2–2.45m deep. Below the fill and topsoil on the surface was peat, orange/blue/grey firm/plastic sandy clay, orange/blue/grey friable sandy loam and grey loose loamy sand. The topsoil contained one modern pottery sherd, while the fill contained 20th-century artefacts. A number of modern land drains crossed four of the trenches. The entire site appeared to have been backfilled in recent times, with the stratigraphy consisting of fill over topsoil and peat, over natural subsoil. Nothing of archaeological significance was revealed.