County: Galway Site name: GORTAVOHER 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A044; E3984
Author: Shane Delaney, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120b Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Site type: Burnt mound
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 540620m, N 693079m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.985159, -8.884316
Excavation of a burnt mound at the site of Gortavoher 1 along the proposed N18 Gort to Crusheen road scheme was funded by Galway County Council and the National Roads Authority (NRA). The site was located on the base of a west-facing slope. It was located where the slope gave way to peatland. The site consisted of two irregular spreads of compact, heat-fractured sandstone within a charcoal/peat matrix. The eastern spread of material measured 14.4m north–south by 12.4m and survived to a depth of up to 0.36m. The western spread measured 4.2m by 3.4m by 0.22m. No other archaeological features or associated finds were identified in association with the site. A fragment of alder/hazel charcoal from one of the areas (C3) returned a 2 sigma calibrated date of 2023–1887 BC (3591±25 BP: UBA 12753), placing the site in the Early Bronze Age.
