County: Galway Site name: M17 GALWAY (RATHMORRISSY) TO TUAM ROAD SCHEME
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A049; E4022
Author: Denis Shine, Cultural Resource Development Services Ltd, Unit 4, Dundrum Business Park, Dundrum, Dublin 14.
Site type: Testing
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 529516m, N 724990m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.270559, -9.056672
Test excavation and survey services were carried out on the 26.5km route of the M17 Galway (Rathmorrissy) to Tuam road scheme. Services were managed for Galway County Council by HyderTobin Consultants and funded by the National Roads Authority. These services included centreline test excavations by machine, site-specific test excavations by hand, test excavations in wetland, architectural heritage surveys, townland boundary surveys, topsoil-stripping by machine adjacent to known or suspected monuments and testing by machine of geophysical anomalies.
Centreline test excavations were undertaken by teams of archaeologists with tracked mechanical excavators. A trench was excavated along the centreline of the footprint of the road with offset trenches at both sides spaced between 12m and 15m apart (though excavation directors had discretion in the field to vary the trench pattern to allow any aboveground topographic features or anomalies to be adequately investigated). Test-trenches were excavated to natural undisturbed subsoil.
A number of previously unknown sites were discovered. These included a number of burnt spreads and mounds in the townland of Cloondarone, a probable holy well in the townland of Cloonkeen North, a burnt mound with adjacent discrete cut features in the townland of Ardskeagh Beg, the foundation remains of three early modern structures in the townland of Annagh/Bullaun, a corn-drying kiln, burnt mound and the apparent foundation remains of three early modern structures in the townland of Annagh Hill and hearths, a discrete penannular ditch cut, a probably prehistoric circular enclosure, two early modern cobbled roadways and the foundation remains of three early modern structures in the townland of Kilskeagh. These sites will be fully excavated as part of future work on the scheme.
Hand testing was also conducted at two previously identified RMP sites, a ringfort in Rathmorrissy townland, by Tony Bartlett (see No. 415 below, E4024) and a well in Tobernavean townland, by Liam McKinstry (below No. 419, E4023).
