County: Sligo Site name: Drumkilsellagh 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E005262 (also R00544 and Ministerial Consent Ref. No. A079)
Author: Denis Shine
Site type: Pit of probable prehistoric date
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 571779m, N 839923m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.307276, -8.433636
Stage (iii) Excavations were undertaken at Drumkilsellagh 1 as part of the N16 Lugatober (Drumkilsellagh to Lugnagall) Road Project, Co. Sligo. Drumkilsellagh 1 was discovered in the southern section of the scheme during advance Stage (i) Test Excavations undertaken in 2020 by AMS (Dowling and McKee 2020; Registration Nos.: E005188 and R00544; Ministerial Consent Ref.: A079).
The on-site Stage (iii) Excavation Services at Drumkilsellagh 1 were undertaken on 18 November 2020. The site consisted of a single small pit (0.55m x 0.42m x 0.18m) and an agricultural furrow. The pit contained a single fill, in which a chert flake was found, indicating a prehistoric date. A bulk sample was taken of the fill and it is intended to obtain one radiocarbon date from that material, should suitable organic remains be present.
Drumkilsellagh 1 is positioned 350m south of a much larger concentration of prehistoric pits at Drumkilsellagh 2, which were also excavated as part of this scheme. Several other newly recorded prehistoric sites were also found in adjacent townlands during the N16 Lugatober (Drumkilsellagh to Lugnagall) Road Project, including two ring-ditches (Castlegal 2 and Castlegal 3) and a palisaded enclosure (Castlegal 4) in neighbouring townland Castlegal. These new discoveries supplement the evidence of known prehistoric activity in Drumkilsellagh and its surrounds. Previously known archaeological monuments include two barrows (SL009-027 and SL009-030) in Castlegal and a wedge tomb (SL009-031) in Drumkilsellagh itself.
c/o Archaeological Management Solutions Ltd, Fahy’s Road, Kilrush, Co. Clare
