2022:254 - GORTEENS, Mayo

The discovery of undesiginated earthworks in an undulating area earmarked for road upgrade by Mayo County Council prompted licenced archaeological testing. A single trench 257m long x 1.8m wide, running on a north-south axis, was excavated by mechanical digger parallel to the N84 between Shrule and Kilmaine. The test trench was within a road take no more than 10m wide and came to within 4.2m of a low, flat-topped earthen and stone bank. This bank formed part of a much larger area of earthworks that stretched out from the test trench into the adjacent field, currently used for grazing.

In a low-lying area at the southern end of the test trench redeposited subsoil and red brick occurred as well as partly oxidized yellow brick, the latter reminiscent of kiln waste. Nothing of archaeological significance was uncovered.