County: Roscommon Site name: Cloonkille
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 16E0283
Author: Tamlyn McHugh
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 0m, N 0m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.426486, -8.022464
Fadó Archaeology were commissioned to carry out a programme of archaeological testing at Cloonkille Co. Roscommon. The proposed development works comprised the demolition of the single storey school and the construction of a new 16 classroom two-storey school, car park and play areas together with all associated site works and landscaping and connection to existing public services covering an area of 1.5 acres. The development site is roughly rectangular shaped, narrowing to the north-west where it is bounded by a minor road. The ground surface slopes gently from south-east to north-west.
On 12 July 2016 a series of 8 linear test trenches at 10m intervals were excavated across the entire site. Each trench was excavated through the overlying topsoil material to the natural substrate underlying the testing area. A total of 556m of test trenches were excavated across the site. The soil cover averaged 0.4m of rich dark brown clayey silt topsoil over a dark orange boulder clay with occasional occurrences of gravel and sand. Test trenches were excavated parallel to one another in a south-east to north-west orientation. The land across the majority of the site was well drained. The stratigraphy in each trench was uniform throughout the entire site. No archaeological deposits were encountered in the development site.
Fadó Archaeology, 17 Cooldrumman Upper, Carney, Co. Sligo
