County: Mayo Site name: GARRAVLAGH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: MA101–051 Licence number: 09E0153
Author: Richard Crumlish, 4 Lecka Grove, Castlebar Road, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo.
Site type: Enclosure
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 530152m, N 773044m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.702424, -9.057827
Pre-development testing was carried out on 17 and 18 April 2009 at a site at Garravlagh, Claremorris, Co. Mayo. The proposed development consisted of the construction of a dwelling-house, septic tank and percolation area with a change of house type from that previously granted. The proposed development was located within the constraint for an enclosure. The monument was partially visible in the adjacent field to the east, with the dividing boundary between the site and the adjacent field apparently incorporating a portion of the enclosing element of the monument. The enclosure could have extended into the proposed development site, but it was not visible within the site, which consisted of a field of pasture.
The testing consisted of the excavation (by machine) of five trenches located to best cover the area of the site, particularly that closest to the enclosure. The trenches measured 35.5m, 19.5m, 19.7m, 20m and 31.5m long respectively, 0.9–1.1m wide and 0.3–1.0m deep. Below the topsoil was orange/grey/brown firm clay, grey plastic boulder
clay, orange/brown firm clay loam. The topsoil contained three sherds of modern pottery. The testing also revealed a portion of the
enclosing feature of the enclosure in all five trenches. The ditch feature measured 3–4m wide with two fills discernible, a grey/brown friable silt loam and an orange/brown firm clay loam. The feature extended into the site from the eastern site boundary by 3.7–9m. This line of the monument crossing the boundary was visible on the first edition of the OS 6inch sheet dating to 1838.
