County: Sligo Site name: Tobercurry, Carrowntober, Ballyara (Knox) and Carrowreagh (Knox)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 17E0067
Author: Tamlyn McHugh/Moore Group
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 550889m, N 812668m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.060812, -8.750155
A programme of monitoring was carried out at Quarryfield, Co. Sligo in February 2017 on behalf of Shareridge Ltd. for Sligo County Council. Near the pipe-laying works are several archaeological monuments. The overall project involved the installation of approximately 2.3km of pipeline at various locations in the Tubbercurry area (Area 5) of south-west County Sligo, in the townlands of Tobercurry, Carrowntober, Ballyara (Knox) and Carrowreagh (Knox), as part of the Lough Talt Rural Water Supply Scheme.
Monitoring took place February 2017 along a single-track minor road which traversed the townlands of Carrowntober, Ballyara (Knox) and Carrowreagh (Knox) in an area west of Tubbercurry town. Ground works consisted of the mechanical excavation of a series of launch and receptor pits for the purposes of pipe laying using directional drilling techniques. The pits were excavated at 100m apart and measured varying widths averaging 1m, average length of 2m and to a maximum depth of 1m as per engineering specifications. No open-cut trenches were excavated during this phase of the works.
All the pits were excavated into grassy verges along the southern edge of the road. The stratigraphy exposed a sod layer and rich brown silty topsoil over clayey silt with moderate small to medium sub-angular stone inclusions, overlying mid orange boulder clay at the south-eastern end of the pipeline closest to the town of Tubbercurry. A disused railway bridge is located at the furthest south-eastern end of the pipeline. No material of an archaeological nature was found in any of the launch or receptor pits in this area.
Monitoring was carried out in the area closes to SL037-013, Ringfort, in Carrowreagh (Knox) townland, where a series of pits were excavated 100m apart along the verge and ditch that bounded the field containing the ringfort. The stratigraphy in these pits consisted of grass sod and topsoil layer containing frequent roots. This overlay a dark brown peaty clay containing occasional small to medium sized sub-rounded stones, which are likely to be road fill. No archaeological material was uncovered in this area.
17 Cooldrumman, Upper Carney, Co. Sligo
