Excavation — miscellaneous in Gunnocks

Located on a fairly level landscape. A gradiometer survey (17R0229) by Target Archaeological Geophysics of an extensive development area of c. 75 ha in the townlands of Loughsallagh, Portan, and Gunnocks, identified numerous anomalies of potential archaeological interest. Targeted archaeological testing (18E0013) by T. Coughlin in 2018 and M. Piera (19E0211) in 2019 was able to demonstrate that many of these were of fairly modern agricultural origin. However, sixteen locations were set aside for further investigation, which was undertaken by J. Whitaker under the licence (18E0013) between the beginning of April and the end of July 2019, and all but four of these proved to be of archaeological interest. A N-S drainage ditch (L 90m plus; max. Wth of top 1.5-2m; D 0.2-0.3m) was filled with three main layers of silty clays, the upper two of which had inclusions of sea shell, and sherds of medieval pottery were found throughout. About 5m W of the boundary ditch a smaller gully (Wth 0.4-0.6m; D 0.15m) was parallel with it (L 8.24m). Three small pits (dims 0.5m x 0.3m; D 0.0.6m to 1.2m x 1.2m; D 0.3m) with some burnt stone in the silty clay fills were also in the vicinity but produced no artefacts. However, medieval pottery sherds were recovered from a small metalled surface (dims 1.95m x 0.84m) that included burnt stone and the underlying layer of yellow-grey sandy clay (dims 5.8m x 5.2m; T 0.05m). (Whitaker 2020, 39-41, Site 15) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 5 November 2021