County: Galway Site name: TOBERNAVEAN WELL, TOBERNAVEAN Holy well,
Sites and Monuments Record No.: GA084–128 Licence number: A049; E4023
Author: Liam McKinstry, Cultural Resource Development Services Ltd, Unit 4, Dundrum Business Park, Dundrum, Dublin 14.
Site type: burnt mound
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 529516m, N 724990m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.270559, -9.056668
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 site-specific test excavations by hand at known sites of archaeological significance. Such testing was conducted at Tobernavean well, which lies at the edge of the footprint of the scheme in the townland of Tobernavean, some 3km north-west of Athenry in Co. Galway.
The site is located on level ground and is spring-fed. Land in the area is generally low-lying, primarily under pasture and marginal scrub. The site has been described as a holy well in the Archaeological Inventory for Co. Galway (Alcock et al. 1999) and in the SMR for the area (www.archaeology.ie).
The well is sub-oval in shape and is bounded by a rubble limestone wall which survives to a height of 1.2m above the ground level. The well measures 7.15m (north-west/south-east) by 3.45m. There are two subrectangular troughs of rubble limestone construction associated with the well; one, to the south, with cement mortar and the other, to the northwest, with cement render. A stone field boundary wall extends to the well from the south.
The well site was completely covered in vegetation at the commencement of testing,
suggesting that the site has not been used in a religious context for quite some time. Test-trenching adjacent to the well revealed a
stone layer surrounding it. This was interpreted as an attempt to consolidate the ground surface around the well at some point in the past. Examination of the second-edition OS map revealed the land surrounding the well to be marshy at the time of survey. Test-trenching also confirmed that a large man-made mound abutting the well to the south (noted during vegetation clearance) was of burnt-mound material. The mound is a classic crescent shape with the arc (where a trough would traditionally be located) disposed towards the area of the well, suggesting continuation of use of the site over millennia. Testing established that the mound measured 22.2m (east–west) by 22.5m with a maximum height from the surrounding ground surface of c. 1.7m. No trough or other associated features were discovered.
Test-trenching of the holy well produced no significant archaeological evidence to date the monument and no indication of medieval activity was noted. The stone wall of the well would appear to be of a relatively recent date, with the stone troughs yet more recent.
The area of the well has been excluded from the scheme and the well will be preserved in situ.
References
Alcock, O., K. de h”ra and P. Gosling 1999 (comp.)
Archaeological inventory of County Galway, vol.
II: North Galway. The Stationery Office. www.archaeology.ie.
