County: Galway Site name: Knockaunnagat
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 17E0005
Author: Tamlyn McHugh
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 547923m, N 761679m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.602368, -8.786821
Fadó Archaeology were commissioned to carry out monitoring at Knockaunnagat Co. Galway. The entire proposed development works entailed a 2.74ha extension to the existing quarry, for the extraction of sand and gravel, together with a programme of reinstatement works.
Phase 1 monitoring took place on 21 April 2017. Phase 1 consisted of the removal of topsoil from an area measuring approximately 40m x 40m to facilitate an extension to the quarry to the north. The grass-covered sod and topsoil was mechanically stripped in a south-east to north-west orientation and then deposited in a large mound in the eastern area of the site. The topsoil was removed using a 21 ton machine. The land across the site was well drained and the conditions were dry during the course of the work. The soil cover ranged from 0.3m to 0.45m and consisted of rich dark brown clayey silt topsoil over a dark orange boulder clay in the north-west and sandy gravel in the south-east. Boulder clay occurred at the base of the gradual sloping field, whilst the gravel and sand deposits were the main underlying substrate. The overburden to the north-west was excavated to a depth of 2m at the base of the slope. Amongst the gravel and sand deposits were moderate occurrences of large sub-rounded stones and frequent small sub-rounded stones. There were also occasional occurrences of flat angular stones. The site was bounded by a stone wall; occasional small items were found in the topsoil here including modern sherds of pottery and glass, which were presumably from the nearby cottages to the south-west.
Nothing of archaeological significance was found during the course of the monitoring works.
17 Cooldrumman Upper Carney Co. Sligo
