2016:101 - N5 Ballaghaderreen Scramoge Road Development; AH01 AH03 Kilvoy & Cloonyeffer, Co Roscommon, Roscommon

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Roscommon Site name: N5 Ballaghaderreen Scramoge Road Development; AH01 AH03 Kilvoy & Cloonyeffer, Co Roscommon

Sites and Monuments Record No.: RO016-151 Licence number: 15E0588

Author: Aidan O'Connell

Site type: Testing

Period/Dating:

ITM: E 575675m, N 787533m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.836719, -8.369568

Stage (i) Standard Archaeological Test Excavations were undertaken at Kilvoy and Cloonyeffer, Co. Roscommon in February 2016 in order to provide further information as part of the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed N5 Ballaghaderreen-Scramoge Road Project. Machine-assisted test excavations were undertaken in greenfield areas amounting to 4.994ha, which are mainly located within the proposed landtake for the proposed road. A total of 31 machine-assisted test-trenches (2379 linear m) were excavated within the site (c. 8.6% of the LMA).

Testing confirmed the presence of archaeological features, comprising linear features and pits. Linear features mainly comprised plough furrows of recent agricultural origin. A sample of Pomoideae charcoal from one pit with no surface expression in Kilvoy townland was dated to 3774‑3654 BC, indicating it was early Neolithic in origin.

Numerous additional potential pits were identified in LiDAR survey and presented themselves as surface depressions. They were associated with site RO016-151----, designated as a ‘pitfield’.  The surface depressions were subjected to geophysical survey, metal detection, electrical resistivity imaging, loss-on-ignition analysis and mass-specific magnetic susceptibility, in advance of archaeological testing (which was undertaken in the presence of a geologist). The combined results of ERI, archaeological and geological assessment indicates that the surface depressions examined within this pitfield are natural in origin. Testing also indicated that there was no trace of an early road/trackway, a possible extension to RO022-056002 identified to the west of the testing area at the EIS stage.

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