2020:780 - CLAGGARNAGH EAST (2/3), Mayo

The author was commissioned by Wills-BAM Joint Venture to undertake a programme of archaeological testing of the site of a proposed External Borrow  area (EBA) at Claggarnagh East, Co. Mayo. The EBA at Claggarnagh East is located 6.5km southwest of Castlebar town centre, close to the south shore of Islandeady Lough and north of the existing N5.

Testing was carried out on 8 and 9 June 2020. The northern edge of a previously-known burnt mound (Claggarnagh East 2/3) was discovered during the course of testing. Thirty-one test trenches were excavated at the site in generally bright and sunny conditions.

In general, the stratigraphy throughout comprised a homogenous mid-brown sandy silty topsoil and sod ranging in depth from 100-350mm overlying a natural compact, coarse mixed yellowish to mid-brown sandy silty clay subsoil with patches of blackened and reddened clay with occasional outcrops of bedrock. Towards the northern ends of the site deposits of peat were encountered. At the centre of Field 2 deeper deposits of peat were encountered, reaching depths of up to 2m. Deep deposits of peat were also encountered at the southern end of Field 4. The remains of two vernacular stone field walls were encountered in Field 2.

At ITM 508918/786815 at the southern end of Trench 23 at the juncture with the centre of Trench 25 a burnt mound was observed. The site was located in low-lying ground at the margin with lower-lying wetland to the south west of Field 2. The site was located in a slight hollow at the eastern part of the field. The site covers an area measuring 5.9m from north to south and comprised of a deposit of fire-reddened and -cracked stone within a matrix of burnt and blackened sandy silty clay. No charcoal was immediately visible. Trench 23 was excavated to establish the northern extent of this deposit. The western and northern limits of the site were identified with certainty. The western limits of the site extended beyond the land available for the EBA. To the south the site extended beyond the fenceline into the lands made available for construction of the N5.

To the direct south of Trenches 23 and 24, testing and subsequent excavations at Claggarnagh East 2/3 (E004693) uncovered part of a burnt mound which extends to the north, into the EBA. Radiocarbon dating of a sample from this mound returned a date of 1918–1778 cal BC, placing the feature in the Middle Bronze Age. The feature uncovered during the course of testing in field 2 of the EBA is undoubtedly the remaining northern section of the Claggarnagh East 2/3 site.

The site was covered in geotextile and backfilled, the area cordoned off and no extraction works were carried out at this location.