County: Roscommon Site name: N5 Ballaghaderreen Scramoge Road Development; AH09 Killeen East
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 16E0099
Author: Aidan O'Connell
Site type: Testing
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 587999m, N 786218m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.825333, -8.182280
Stage (i) Standard Archaeological Test Excavations were undertaken at Lavally & Vesnoy, Co. Roscommon in January‑February 2016 in order to provide further information as part of the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed N5 Ballaghaderreen-Scramoge Road Project. A total of 17 machine-assisted test-trenches amounting to 842 linear metres were excavated within the site (c. 11.15% of the Land Made Available).
Testing confirmed the presence of archaeological features, comprising a ditch-cut C-shaped enclosure with associated linear features, initially identified in geophysical survey. The C-shaped enclosure was open to the east. It had dimensions of 33m (north-south) x 25m and the ditch measured 0.46m wide x 1.3m deep. A sample of Pomoideae charcoal collected from the upper fill of the ditch was dated to AD 1409‑1444, indicating a late medieval date. The enclosure was bisected by a pair of east‑west aligned linear ditches.
Archer Heritage Planning, 8 Beat Centre, Stephenstown, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin
