2013:571 - 'The Poirtíns', Knock, Inishbofin, Galway

Introduction

A two-week community excavation took place at ‘The Poirtíns’, a deserted settlement at the south-eastern tip of Inishbofin. The excavation was undertaken with the assistance of local people and pupils from the Inishbofin N.S. It was part of a wider research project, Cultural Landscapes of the Irish Coast (CLIC), which has been funded and staffed by the University of Notre Dame under the direction of Dr Ian Kuijt. The research focus of the excavation was on four building clusters depicted on Bald’s Map of Mayo, surveyed between 1809 and 1816 (1830). The houses were abandoned by the time of the initial Ordnance Survey which was undertaken on Inishbofin c. 1838.

Two buildings, Structures 2 and 14, were selected for excavation. Both houses investigated were located on sloping ground just above the cove possibly used for beaching boats, with Structure 14 being immediately downslope of Structure 2. The ground rises to the east to bedrock outcrops, however drystone field boundaries around the house clusters are indicative of in-field cultivation and are depicted on the 1838 Ordnance Survey. The structures themselves were defined by upright boulders and loose stones and probably functioned as animal pens after the houses had been abandoned. The research agenda focused on the structural history of the buildings and the social archaeology of their inhabitants, as defined by evidence of their material culture. It was hoped that the excavation would throw some light on the pre-Famine occupation of the settlement, with the possibility of there being earlier, 18th-century evidence recorded.

Excavation

The structures were selected for excavation as they were located close to the shoreline and demonstrated no evidence of significant rebuilding. An area 101.6m² was opened across both structures with a connecting trench between.

Excavation revealed that the buildings, orientated east-west, were constructed from stone foundations, utilising the local bedrock, with a well-organised drainage system to the exterior. Their superstructures were in sod, with a hard-mortared internal floor. This comprised a locally available sediment, known on the island as mortair, which was laid down over most of the construction area, covering the berm foundation for the walls. Once laid down, the material was probably stamped and allowed to dry. A sondage though the floor demonstrated a floor thickness of 0.3m, providing a robust surface and a solid foundation for building the walls.

The incomplete outline of Structure 2, 10m by 6m in extent, could be seen with the presence of three partially complete stone walls, most notably the south and north walls defined by a single course of large upright stones and opposing entrances. The east wall of the building was exposed on the outside due to the natural slope. No stones were visible above the surface of the west, upslope wall. Two doorways were opposite one another in the south and north walls. On removal of the sod and collapse it became clear that the building was originally constructed with two major internal spaces: Room A in the west, and B to the east. Entrance into Room B was through two doors, one on the south and one on the north side of the building. Room A was directly accessed from Room B. The spaces were separated by a well-made masonry wall that ran north-south. The remains of a threshold stone and corner stones helped identify the doorway between these spaces. Room A appears to have been used as a domestic space while Room B was multi-use, including occasionally providing home to stock in the south-eastern corner.

Taking advantage of the natural slope, the builders added fill on the downslope side of the foundation to facilitate drainage. On the upslope side a ditch was dug just above the upper gable wall to divert water away from the building.

Structure 14, approximately 10m by 5m in size, was defined by the presence of three partially preserved walls (east, south and west). The south-west corner of the structure, with the western gable end, was largely intact. The absence of the northern wall suggests that the structure was torn down by the Congested Districts Board, and the stone used to construct the high wall just to the east that defines the public access road. Excavation revealed that Structure 14 was a large, rectangular two-space building, probably with a single entrance on the north (protected) side. The two internal spaces functioned in different ways. The western space, Room A, had the remains of two hearths. The first was next to the gable and was on a large hearth stone. The remains of a second hearth, defined by a large collection of red ash from a peat fire, was located next to the centre of the internal wall dividing both spaces. While there are no other features in this space, it would appear that it was primarily residential. There were no hearths or other features identified in the eastern space, Room B. Similar to the downslope space at the eastern end of Structure 2, Room B in Structure 14 had a flagstone floor along the eastern gable. The flagstones were largest and most extensive at the north-eastern corner. Due to time limitations only 50% of the eastern end of the space was excavated. Available data, however, suggest that Room B was probably used for keeping stock at select times of the year, as well as general storage and work space. Excavation in Structure 14 additionally exposed an exterior stone curb and walkway along the lee (eastern side of the building) and with a drain extending from underneath an east-west wall beyond the limit of excavation.

The finds assemblage was indicative of later 19th- and 20th-century activity, where there was nothing recovered from the primary occupation levels. A late Bronze Age spearhead was however recovered from the upper levels of collapse within Structure 2 (13E0196:1:1). There are several possibilities regarding its provenance: it is possible that the spearhead was brought into the building through a non-cultural process such as the object moving downslope after the building was abandoned; however, it is equally possible the artefact was found by an occupant and retained as a curiosity or as a good-luck charm. It may additionally have been introduced within a sod used for the construction of the roof or the walls. The object has been conserved and will be deposited in the national collection.

Archaeology and Built Heritage, 79 Queen Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7