2013:550 - Baunmore, Galway

Test excavation took place on a green field site at Baunmore, Co. Galway on 5 September 2013. The work was commissioned by Galway County Council in mitigation of a proposed new junction of the R348 and R347, approximately 1.5km south-east of the medieval town of Athenry. A strip of land on the east side of the existing junction was acquired by the council for the purpose of developing the new junction. GA084-027 (Ringfort) and GA084-02701 (Graveyard) are located directly across the road, on the south side of the junction, and comprise the well-preserved remains of the east part of a large ringfort located within the grounds of a modern cemetery.

Five test trenches were opened; two centreline trenches measuring 60m and 140m, and three offsets located at 20m intervals and ranging from 15-25m in length. A human burial and a shallow pit feature were uncovered. The exposed human skeletal remains consisted of two femurs and part of the pelvis with phalanges resting over the pelvic area. The remains lay adjacent to a large angular limestone boulder located on the south-west side of the burial. The skeleton was not excavated and the exposed remains were marked and covered with protective sheeting prior to trench reinstatement. The burial may be associated with the nearby ringfort, representing an internment outside its enclosing element, or with the adjacent townland boundary, which follows the line of the R348 between the burial and the ringfort. The location of a cemetery directly across the road may also be significant. Though this cemetery is modern it may have been developed on or near a site traditionally associated with funerary activity. The pit feature is irregular in plan measuring 1.3m in diameter and 0.14m deep. Finds from the charcoal-rich silt fill included some possible burnt bone fragments. Full excavation of the site is recommended should the development proceed as proposed. 

Dominic Delany & Associates, Unit 3, Howley Court, Oranmore, Co. Galway