What is recorded here

Winter storms have torn the grass back to reveal five metres of tightly packed periwinkle and limpet shells, proving that hands once gathered food at the mouth of Greatmans Bay. The little-used trackway now cuts through the western edge, embedding ancient refuse beneath its modern kerbing. People likely walked this coastal path for generations, dropping what they did not need while facing the deep water. The bay keeps their discarded meals hidden under sod and sand, waiting for the next violent storm to remember them.

On the shoreline, on the SE side of Oileán Garmna (Gorumna Island) at a place close to Gob na Trá Báine (Trawbaun), at the mouth of a deep bay – Cuan an Fhir Mhóir (Greatmans Bay). This midden was recorded by R. Long. It is defined by a low grass-covered platform. Winter storms over recent years have torn through its N side and exposed a well-developed layer of tightly packed shells, mainly periwinkle but also limpet shells, which extend over a distance of 5m. The shells are visible 0.2-0.3m below the sod cover and a layer of sand and in places are up to 0.6m deep. Some burnt stone and charcoal-stained soil were also noted and a fragment of a possible mudstone was found lying loose close by. A little-used coastal trackway, running SSE from the late-medieval church (GA090-019----) c. 450m to the NNW, partially overruns the W side of the platform and the midden material extends beneath its kerbing and is visible intermittently. The form and location of this midden is similar to one found in Caorán ne gCearc Theas/Kerraunngark South– see GA091-012----. The latter has been dated to the Mesolith (pers. comm. M. Gibbons). The following image has been uploaded: GA090-030----_01.pdf. Photo courtesy of M. Gibbons Compiled by: Olive Alcock with information provided by M. Gibbons Date of upload: 12 April 2023

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