County: Mayo Site name: N59 Westport to Mulranny Road Scheme, Co. Mayo - Derradda to Newport Section. Corraunboy 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 21E0197
Author: Graham Hull
Site type: Late Neolithic to Chalcolithic burnt stone spread
Period/Dating: Chalcolithic (2500 BC-2201 BC)
ITM: E 496285m, N 796024m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.903216, -9.578293
Corraunboy 1 was located on the proposed N59 Westport to Mulranny Road Scheme, Derradda to Newport Section, Co. Mayo. The site was revealed during test trenching in 2020 (19E0504) and, as preservation in situ was not a feasible option, was excavated in March to April 2021. The excavation was undertaken on behalf of Mayo County Council, with funding from Transport Infrastructure Ireland.
The site encompassed an area of 201m² and was situated in a pasture field adjacent to a stream. The excavation revealed an ex-situ burnt stone spread. The spread had an irregular sub-rectangular shape measuring approximately 6.85m north to south by 5.83m and was at most 0.36m thick. This deposit appeared to have suffered a significant amount of disturbance but could be seen to consist of moderately firm, dark grey to black silt with a high frequency of heat-shattered stone and occasional charcoal inclusions. The charcoal assemblage is dominated by birch, with hazel, alder, oak, willow and ivy also recorded. Hazel charcoal from the burnt stone spread was radiocarbon dated to 2554-2298 cal. BC (UBA-46991, 3926 BP ± 27), placing its creation in the Late Neolithic to Chalcolithic, although it had clearly been severely disturbed since that time. The archaeological features and deposits within the site were fully excavated and the site does not appear to extend beyond the scheme boundary. The excavated area was backfilled and reinstated.
TVAS (Ireland) Ltd, Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare
