County: Galway Site name: Portumna Castle
Sites and Monuments Record No.: GA127:018 Licence number: C619 ext,, E004828
Author: Fiona Rooney
Site type: 17th-century courtyard buildings
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 585307m, N 704058m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.086917, -8.219331
Monitoring and excavation of the works associated with renovation of the rooms in the Courtyard Buildings and the excavations of trenches for the upgrading of services and drainage at Portumna Castle were carried out over a period of 28 days.
Monitoring of the excavation of a service trench in the yard revealed a layer of cobbles throughout. There appears to have been a phase of works carried out between the publication of the 1st edition and the 3rd edition OS 6" maps, with the demolition of the wall and the construction of a curved wall. The layer of cobbles appear to be contemporary with this phase of works, which may have occurred prior to a fire in the 1880s.
The service trench excavations also revealed the remains of a north-west/south-east-running brick-lined drain and the remains of a stone-lined drain running parallel to the existing Courtyard Building.
The monitoring of the reduction of floor levels revealed a red brick layer concentration in all rooms with the deepest concentration in Room 2/3. Excavation of this layer in Room 2/3, revealed a blackish-brown clay layer which contained pottery dating to the latter part of the 17th century and animal bone. The black clay layer overlay a north-south-running, red brick-lined drain which also extended into Room 1. The remains of a east-west-running wall foundation were also revealed in Room 1 indicating a different layout from the present building.
Monitoring of the trench along the external west side of the building revealed the red brick and black clay layer. At the south, this came down onto a layer of cobbles which extended below the foundations of the existing building; a fragment of pottery dating to the latter part of the 17th century was revealed on the surface of the cobbles.
Excavations of the trench along the external east side of the building revealed modern fill coming down onto a layer of cobbles and a layer of slag material with metal objects. A licence to export has been applied for with the National Museum of Ireland, for the material to be examined by an archaeo-metallurgist.
Monitoring of the trench excavations along the south wall of the building found disturbed layers for 0.5m in depth, revealing brick steps in the east of the trench, a wall foundation in the west end and a layer of light orange-brown clay throughout. Excavation of the clay revealed a cobble pathway, orientated north-west/south-east. Pottery fragments were recorded in this area and are with a ceramic specialist.
The trench extending south to the sump revealed the remains of the walls of a building. Excavations found the area in between these walls consisted of rubble, mortar, tile and slates, which came down onto the orange-brown sandy clay layer.
Metal finds and animal bone samples have been sent on to the relevant specialists and reports from these will give a greater understanding of the nature and date of this activity.
Church Street, Athenry, Co. Galway
