2012:447 - Slievemore, Mayo

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Mayo Site name: Slievemore

Sites and Monuments Record No.: MA042-017-002 Licence number: 12E0176

Author: Rory Sherlock

Site type: Unclassified megalithic tomb

Period/Dating:

ITM: E 464093m, N 807408m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.998009, -10.072938

This monument is identified as a linear, jumbled grouping of large stone slabs, some set on edge, which is situated on an elevated site with extensive views over Keel Lough and Keel Bay. Extensive evidence for 'lazy bed' cultivation ridges can be seen in the area and it first seemed that this monument was an unclassified megalithic tomb which had been heavily truncated by lazy beds on either side. The Achill Archaeological Field School excavated a 10m x 10m area centred on the stone grouping in July and August 2012 and revealed that the cultivation ridges, within which early modern pottery was found, appear to predate some elements of the stone grouping. This evidence, together with the fact that none of the upright stones appear to be securely set in position, suggests the stone grouping derives from early modern field clearance and is not an antiquity.

Achill Archaeological Field School, Dooagh, Achill Island, Co, Mayo