County: Sligo Site name: Carrigeenboy
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 18E0033
Author: Martin Timoney
Site type: Testing
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 571704m, N 827365m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.194435, -8.433603
The 2.83ha site for a new house and a 320m long access avenue was tested by twelve trenches over five days in early February 2018.
The site is along the ridge skirting the south side of the Castledargan Demesne where development of a hotel, golf course and associated works were previously monitored by the author under licence 03E0604. The only adjacent monument is SL021-041, an enigmatic earthwork, 70m to the east of the development.
The four trenches across the house space totalled 248.5 m. The intermittent eight trenches along the avenue totalled 161m. The trenches were 1.8 m wide in the house area and in the eastern half of the avenue; because of tree roots a 1m-wide bucket was used when the wider bucket failed to make progress between mature demesne trees and in order to save as many of them as possible. Depths to the natural varied from 0.3-0.66m. Where crossing the ornamental ditch they reached 1.1m.
The depth of the ditch along an ornamental demesne boundary was found to be deeper than expected. After testing it was shown to be 2m wide and 1.1m deep with 1.6m wide by 0.9m high banks surviving intermittently along the sides. Despite the heaviness of the soil considerable silting has taken place over the last few centuries. The location of a blocked culvert was established and cleared allowing better drainage of the eastern part of the overall site.
There were no artefacts recorded.
TASKS, Bóthar an Chorainn, Cloonagh, Keash, Ballymote, Co. Sligo. F56 AE72
