2012:081 - FANORE MORE, Clare

This shell midden was discovered during field walking associated with the excavation of shell midden CL001-019 at Fanore More in 2011 (See Excavations 2011 and Excavations 2012, No. 80). The site is situated to the south of a small west-north-west-facing beach at Trawvealacalaha c. 0.7km south of the main beach at Fanore and c. 280m south-west of shell midden CL001-019.

The site has become eroded by the sea during high tides and storms. Due to this erosion deposits of material, which consist of seashells and heat-shattered stone, have been dispersed over a c. 20m2 area. A number of stone artefacts were also found on the surface, which led to the discovery of the shell midden.

Due to the vulnerability of the site it was deemed necessary to carry out a small test excavation to recover organic material for dating before any further erosion took place. Test areas were chosen where midden material remained in situ and contained secure deposits of shell. Three small test trenches were excavated: Test Trench 1 (0.5m x 0.2m), Test Trench 2 (0.3m x 0.1m), and Test Trench 3 (0.7m x 0.1m). Sea shells suitable for radiocarbon dating were retrieved from all three trenches. All deposits excavated were retained for future analysis.

The test excavation has been successful in retrieving suitable shell samples for dating the midden. The material excavated also shows that the predominant shellfish are common periwinkle and limpet. In the deposits retained, no other organic material was identified nor any artefacts found except for some heat-shattered stone. These initial results, along with the surface finds of stone axes and other lithics, are strongly suggestive of similar activity to that excavated at the neighbouring midden CL001-019. The radiocarbon dates, when obtained, should provide the chronological relationship of the two sites.