County: Sligo Site name: Carrowbunnaun
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 23E0683
Author: Tamlyn McHugh
Site type: Middens
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 560846m, N 835449m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.266357, -8.601035
The proposed development entails the construction of 50 social housing units, along with associated site roads and all associated site development works at Carrowbunnaun Co. Sligo. The development site is 1.9 hectares in size, therefore it was recommended in the AIA that the proposed development should be subject to further assessment in the form of a programme of archaeological test trenching.
Testing took place on 30-31 August & 1 September 2023, during which 18 trenches were mechanically excavated across the site. The subject area had a gently undulating topography, which was very steep in the eastern area of the site. All trenches were excavated to 2m width, and to the underlying natural sandy substrate which, in most of the trenches, comprised a yellowish-orange boulder clay with moderate occurrences of small to medium-sized stones.
Archaeological material in the form of two shell middens was uncovered in Trench 14 & 16. Following the recording of the middens the area was covered in terram, and backfilled. Due to the location of the presence of archaeological material within the proposed development area, it was recommended that the archaeological features should be preserved in situ and a zone of constraint/exclusion should be maintained during any future groundworks in the vicinity of these sites.
Cooldrumman Upper, Carney, Co. Sligo
