County: Roscommon Site name: Carrowmurragh, Kiltoom
Sites and Monuments Record No.: None Licence number: 14E0442
Author: Martin Byrne, Byrne Mullins & Associates
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 598482m, N 748486m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 0.000000, 0.000000
Planning Permission for an additional Playing Pitch at St Brigid’s GAA Club, Carrowmurragh, Kiltoom required that the development be the subject of an Archaeological Impact Assessment, including a geophysical survey and programme of archaeological testing.
There are no archaeological monuments listed as being located within the development area. An earthwork site (RO048-042), for which there is no visible surface remains, is located 190m to the west of the development area. This was included in a programme of testing undertaken by Chris Read in 2002 (Licence No.: 02E0753) in advance of the development of a playing pitch within the overall GAA complex but nothing of archaeological interest was uncovered. A further earthwork site (RO048-044) is located 200m to the west-south-west of the development area. The area of the feature is partially occupied by a playing pitch and there is now no visible surface evidence for the site.
A number of anomalies were detected by the Geophysical Survey which was undertaken by J.M. Leigh Surveys (Ref: 14R0120). A total of 8 archaeological test trenches, of varying lengths and orientations, were excavated within the boundaries of the site. The chosen locations were based on the results of the geophysical survey and existing site topography. All trenches were excavated by machine fitted with toothless ditching/grading bucket (1.8m wide), following which the sides and bases of the trenches were cleaned by hand and visually examined. In addition, all the spoil generated by the excavation of the test trenches was ‘raked-over’ in an attempt to increase the potential for the recovery of archaeological artefacts.
The results from the testing were consistently similar. The topsoil comprised moderately compact mid-dark brown sandy silty clay with moderate pebbles and small-medium cobbles, occasional large cobbles and very occasional small stones dispersed randomly throughout. The topsoil, which was 0.28–0.31m in depth, generally lay directly upon moderately compact orange/grey-brown sandy stony clay subsoil, interspersed in areas by bands of gravel and stone. Such bands coincided with a number of the geophysical anomalies; elsewhere, a number of small but distinct areas of iron panning were noted at the interface between the topsoil and subsoil, which broadly coincided with the ‘ferrous responses’ detected by the geophysical survey.
No features, structures or deposits of archaeological interest were uncovered during the course of the testing.
7 Cnoc na Greine Square, Kilcullen, Co. Kildare
