County: Galway Site name: Ardgaineen
Sites and Monuments Record No.: GA057-167 Licence number: 17E0524
Author: Liam Coen c/o Archer Heritage Planning
Site type: No archaeology
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 538144m, N 740568m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.411613, -8.930387
An RMP site, enclosure GA057-167, was in the area of a proposed extension to an adjacent quarry; excavation was undertaken in advance of development. The site is located in a landscape of relatively level pasture bounded by stone-walls and hedgerows, composed primarily of elder and hawthorn. The site had been subject to geophysical survey (08R141) and test-excavation (17E0187). Following the removal of topsoil by a 3-tonne mechanical excavator, the areas above the potential archaeological features identified in the earlier investigations were cleaned by hand. A series of parallel linear features were revealed extending through the site (0.3–0.8m in width, maximum depth 0.1m – furrows were generally spaced at less than 1m apart). They were filled with mid- to light brown loose sandy clay containing some occasional oxidised clay flecks. They were roughly aligned with the orientation of the current field boundaries and similar examples were present in the adjacent field, where a site was excavated under licence 17E0465. They appear to be agricultural in nature and possibly represent ‘lazy beds’, i.e. furrows for growing potatoes, due to their close spacing and shallow depth.
No features of archaeological significance were identified. The previous geophysical and testing reports indicated the possible presence of an earlier field system but this was not identified during excavation. The metal-detecting survey, under licence 17R0216, only revealed modern material.
8 Beat Centre, Stephenstown, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin.
