2014:028 - Fanore More (2), Clare

Following the excavation of this Later Mesolithic shell midden in 2013 (excavations.ie, 2013:011), the winter storms of Dec. 2013-Feb 2014 caused severe damage to the north Clare coastline. The shell midden suffered serious damage particularly in the area where the 2013 excavation took place. Had the fortuitous excavation in Autumn 2013 not taken place, most of the material and artefacts recovered would have been lost to the storms. The site was continuously monitored during 2014 and due to the damage and ongoing erosion it was deemed necessary to carry out a further excavation in Autumn 2014 to retrieve scattered and disturbed material and any remaining vunerable in-situ contexts.
Two trenches, Trench 1 and Trench 1 ext., were excavated and an adjacent area was designated for detailed survey and collection of surface finds.

Trench 1 and Trench 1 ext.:
Trench 1 (3m long (north-south) and 3.6m wide) was in effect an extension towards the east of Trench 1 in the 2013 excavation.
Trench 1 ext. (5m long (north-south) and 1.6m wide) was an extension of the former trenches towards the west.
Both trenches had a large amount of disturbed material beneath the storm beach boulders and water-rolled cobbles. This included shells, heat-shattered stone, charcoal and both chert and shale lithics. In parts the storms had removed all the original deposits including the clay layer which had covered the limestone bedrock. However, both trenches did still retain some of the archaeological deposits in-situ. These included 11 significant contexts among the total of 34 found. Discreet deposits of shell, charcoal-rich areas of burning (one with a heat-shattered quartz cobble) and deposits of crushed shell were recorded.
Over 300 artefacts were recovered from both the disturbed material and the in-situ deposits. These included chert flakes and blades, shale flakes, heat-shattered stone flakes, shale axes and roughouts, chert and shale debitage, rubbing and hammerstones, a small number of flint pieces and some elongated stones. These finds will make a valuable addition to the lithic assemblage from 2013.

Survey Area (30m long (north-south) and 15m wide):
The surface survey area was on a terrace adjacent to the east and north-east of the excavated site. Large amounts of storm beach material had been thrown up and scattered across this area by the storm. This area overlapped the survey area of the 2013 excavation. Over 700 artefacts were found which more than trebled the number found in 2013. These included mainly chert and shale flakes and blades with some shale axes and roughouts. Large amounts of heat-shattered stone and shell were also encountered. This clearly indicates the high level of recent storm damage to the site.
The excavation was successful in retrieving the eroded and scattered material and recording the remaining vulnerable contexts on the site. The material and artefacts recovered will add to those from 2013 being analyzed by the specialists.
As in 2013 the excavation was carried out with the help of the Burren Conservation Volunteers (Burrenbeo Trust).

References:

Knowles, M.C. 1900. Kitchen Midden-Co. Clare. Journal of the Limerick Field Club. 1, 34-5.
Knowles, M.C. 1901-1904. Kitchen Middens – Co. Clare. Journal of the Limerick Field Club. 2, 35-42.
Knowles, W. J. 1901. The Fourth Report on the Prehistoric Remains from the Sandhills of the Coast of Ireland. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 3 (6), 331-89.
Lynch, M. 2012. Prehistoric Coastal Midden Sites in the West. In Higgins, J., Conneely, A. and Gibbons, M. (eds). Irish Maritime Heritage, Proceedings of the Third Galway International Heritage Conference 2013. Crow’s Rock Press.
Woodman, P., Finlay, N. & Anderson, E. 2006. The Archaeology of a Collection:The Keiller-Knowles Collection of the National Museum of Ireland. Wordwell Ltd.

Leana, Killinaboy, Co. Clare