2010:603 - Tobertelly, Tubbercurry, Sligo

In cooperation with Sligo County Council and the NRA, an in-depth assessment was carried out by archaeology staff and students from the School of Science, IT, Sligo. The site consisted of a large subrectangular area (54.5m north-east/south-west by 22.8–25m) within an area known as Test Area 5 after John O’Connor of Archaeological Development Services Ltd tested in January 2007 (Excavations 2006, 1794, 06E1058) the proposed N17 Tubbercurry bypass, Co. Sligo, dominated by the remains of a substantial (c. 43m diameter) and previously unrecorded D-shaped enclosure. The enclosure is situated on the north-eastern perimeter of the area assessed and is defined by collapsed earthen banks and a shallow ditch.
Over a two-week period, the site was mechanically cleared, manually cleaned and identified features further assessed. A number of features, including the bank and ditch of the D-shaped enclosure, spreads of brushwood preserved in a peaty deposit, spreads of heat-shattered stone and charcoal-enriched soil as well as other possible cut features were revealed and recorded. Modern disturbances associated with recent efforts at land improvement in the form of land drains were also identified. A number of samples were taken for dating purposes. Through this process of additional assessment, the location, extent and nature of all the archaeological features within Test Area 5 have been identified. A number of these features were assessed manually and sampled. At the time of writing, two 14C dates are awaited for features outside the enclosure.