County: Roscommon Site name: Bumlin 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: RO029-033 Licence number: E005073
Author: Ros Ó Maoldúin/AMS
Site type: Hearth
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 595415m, N 780265m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.771956, -8.069552
Bumlin 1 was excavated in advance of construction of the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Project in County Roscommon by Archaeological Management Solutions for Roscommon County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland. It consisted of an area in the vicinity of a rath (RO029-033) which was subjected to geophysical survey by Earthsound under licence no. 15R0123 (Bonsall & Gimson 2015). No features of archaeological significance were noted in the geophysical survey; however, trends and anomalies including a “possible drainage ditch or furrow” were identified. The archaeological remains comprised a single isolated hearth (C.3). It was c.1.1m long, 0.8m wide, 0.02m deep and contained occasional flecks of burnt bone. The bone was generally too fragmented to allow for species identification; however, three pieces were of sufficient thickness to indicate that they originated from a medium-sized animal such as sheep, goat or pig. Palaeobotanical analyses identified hazel, pomaceous fruitwood and ash charcoal, and charred wheat and hulled barley. A sample of hazel charcoal was dated to cal. AD 433–563 (UBA-43811; 1564±21BP). Combined, these suggest a domestic hearth or campfire over which food was cooked, set in a fairly open, dry landscape during the fifth or sixth century AD.
References
Bonsall, J. & Gimson, H. 2015. Geophysical Survey Report, N5 Ballaghaderreen-Scramoge Road Development. Unpublished report prepared by Earthsound Archaeological Geophysics on behalf of Roscommon County Council.
10 McEoin Pk, Longford, Co. Longford
