Standing stone in Magheracar

A former standing stone, now lying on its side. The packing stones which once supported it are still visible around its base. It is close to and probably part of the megalithic tomb complex (90). The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008 Excavation Number 97E0462 Pre-development testing was undertaken on the site of a proposed development in Magheracar, Bundoran, in November 1997. The site lies to the east and north-east of SMR nos 106:14 and 106:13. House No. 17 in the proposed development, which lies adjacent to SMR 106:14, has been excluded from this programme of testing. Seven trenches were excavated within the boundaries of the proposed development site. (Excavation Bulletin 1997) No archaeological features or small finds were recovered from any of the trenches. Gerry Walsh, Rathbawn Road, Castlebar, Co. Mayo. Excavation licence number 01E0683 Testing, monitoring and excavation took place in advance of a twenty-house development at Magheracar, Bundoran, on the Leitrim/Donegal border. The proposed development site lies within an archaeological complex that includes a passage tomb, a wedge tomb and two standing stones. All of these monuments will be protected by the requisite buffer zones and will not be affected by the proposed development. Geophysical surveying had revealed a number of anomalies that may indicate subsurface archaeological features. These were investigated through the manual excavation of four 20m by 20m areas. Two of these cuttings revealed possible archaeological features in the form of burnt areas and linear cut features. These cuttings were extended to discover the full extent of these features before excavation. At the same time, the remainder of the site was stripped of its topsoil, under supervision. Upon excavation, the cut features in Cutting C were interpreted as possible furrows of unknown date. There were no associated finds. The burnt areas in Cutting D were further exposed and excavated, revealing a large corn-drying kiln with two flues. The kiln was stone-lined and exhibited evidence of extensive burning. One of the flues extended north outside the area of excavation, while the other extended southwards for a distance of almost 13m. No finds came from the kiln, although charcoal and bone samples may be able to provide a 14C date. The southern flue of the kiln cut a small pit, 0.2m deep, which contained a charcoal-stained fill and several large pieces of prehistoric pottery from at least four different vessels. They are likely to be Neolithic (some simple decoration is evident), but have yet to be examined by a pottery expert. The topsoil-stripping of the remainder of the site revealed two other areas of archaeological activity. An isolated collared urn filled with cremated material, completely intact and situated upright, was uncovered and barely missed by the machine. It was removed in a block of soil, relatively in one piece, and is in the process of being excavated in the lab by a conservator. Approximately 20m east of the urn, the remains of a circular stone platform were uncovered. Approximately 6m wide, this semicircle, comprising three concentric rings of flat stone slabs, was set in a low earth and stone mound. The northern half of this feature appears to have been removed without trace sometime in antiquity. Nothing was found within the circle or the mound except for two small blue glass beads and a few pieces of struck chert. A Bronze/Iron Age date for the feature is likely although its purpose has yet to be fully explored. A number of stray finds came from the topsoil across the site, most of which comprised struck chert and flint. A single hollow-based limestone arrowhead and a stone axe were included in the finds. (Excavations Bulletin 2001) Christopher Read, North West Archaeological Services, Cloonfad Cottage, Cloonfad, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim.