Settlement cluster in Edergole (lough Eask Ed)

A report by Emmet Byrnes, archaeologist with the Forestry Service in 2003 documents the preliminary archaeological assessment of a number recently discovered archaeological/historical sites in Coillte Teoranta's forestry plantation in Edergole townland, near Lough Eske, Co. Donegal. Coillte Teoranta's Regional Environmental Manager, Mr. John Williams, identified the first of the sites during the course of a clear-fell operation in Autumn 2003. The sites were then inspected by Coillte Teoranta's Consultant Archaeologist, Mr. Michael Cox, who laid out a series of exclusion zones for the re-planting operation. However, following the completion of the entire clear-fell operation a number of additional features were revealed that Mr. Williams suspected to also be of significance. These features were notified to the National Monuments Section, Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DoEHLG), and the Forest Service Archaeologist, Emmet Byrnes, agreed to inspect the site on 26th November 2003 and make a preliminary assessment. The forestry plantation at Edergole is located approximately 9km northeast of Donegal town. It is situated on steeply sloping ground, along the lower western side of the Corraber River valley. The overall natural drainage pattern is towards the southeast into the Corraber River, and there are a number of small springs and streams dotted across the site, meandering down slope. The solid geology (parent material) of the area is Lower Avonian shales and sandstone, carboniferous slate and calciferous sandstone and the soils are peaty and peaty gleys. Prior to the clear-fell operation there were only two small farmsteads recorded on the OS 6 inch and 25 inch maps within the area of the forestry, one to the north of the plantation and one in the centre. Neither of these farmsteads is listed in the Record of Monuments and Places for County Donegal. The subsequent inspection of the site revealed a third totally unrecorded 18th / 19th century farmstead (DG085-006003-), with ancillary buildings and features such as a byre and limekiln. In addition to this there were also a number of other structures all sited on a north-south orientated ridge upon which the central farmstead is located. The structures include two conjoined turf: built cottages, a `garraí' or garden plot, seven small clearance cairns and at least two, if not three booleying huts (DG085-006001-/002-). The third previously unrecorded 18th/19th century farmstead is located at the very southeastern end of the forestry plantation, situated on a low knoll beside the Corraber River and a series of stepping-stones. It consists of the basal remains of two small two-roomed cottages, one measuring approximately 9m by 4m, and the other 8m by 5m. Nearby, there is a small circular limekiln, with a small sub-rectangular structure attached to its eastern side. The limekiln measures approximately 2.1 m in diameter and 1m in depth with the funnel opening into the interior of the attached structure. Further to the east of these buildings there is another larger wedge- shaped structure, possibly a byre, and a series of dry-stone walls and well-beaten trackways. Two conjoined turf-built cottages were identified approximately 60m north-northeast of the central farmstead. The structures are sub-rectangular in shape, almost square, and cover an area measuring approximately 13m by 9m, and 0.85m in height. They are predominantly built of turf but also have some large boulders incorporated into the structure. The southernmost of the two seems to have been a double-walled structure, with an entrance to the south. A later field wall incorporated the northeastern side of the other structure. Some 10m to the east of the central farmstead there is what appears to be a small `garraí' or garden plot, utilising the top terrace or platform of one of the drumlin-like prominences along the lower sections of the river valley. The feature is roughly oval in shape and measures approximately 30m by 15m, with evidence for some rudimentary dry-stone revetting in places. There is a small sub-rectangular earthen structure on the eastern side of the platform, possibly a booleying hut or some form or animal pen. It measures approximately 10m by 5m, with an entrance to the southeast. There are also two small clearance cairns near the `garraí’, and another five between the central farmstead and the two conjoined turf-built cottages. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 21 August 2012