Sallaghagrane Enclosure beneath Sports Complex

This enclosure, now lying beneath a sports complex, was first recorded in 2001, at which time it was located in level, lowlying pasture. The River Swilly is 100m to S. In 2001 it was evident as a low, circular platform (41.5m NNW-SSE; 40m ENE-WSW) defined by a broad scarp (Wth 1.1-2.4m; H 0.2−0.6m). At the upper edge of the scarp there were ephemeral traces of a levelled bank, and at the foot of the scarp there were traces of an infilled fosse. The fosse was visible at E as a waterlogged depression (Wth 7m; D 0.25m), but for most of the circuit it could be traced only as a surface cropmark (Wth 3m). There was slight evidence of a possible counterscarp bank (Wth c. 4m) outside the fosse. The centre of the platform appeared slightly dished in profile. Levelled remnants of a NNW-SSE field boundary bisected the enclosure, with the outline of a second levelled bank extending at right angles through the NNE quadrant. In February 2002 the enclosure was archaeologically tested in advance of the construction of the sports complex (Walsh 2002). Development ground works in the immediate vicinity of the enclosure prevented testing of the enclosing fosse, but three machine-cut test trenches were excavated in the interior of the enclosure. The stratigrapy consisted of ‘bog-land deposits over natural clay’, with a lens of charcoal noted in two trenches; no artefacts were found, and insufficient definitive archaeological evidence was recovered to determine the nature of the site. (Walsh 2002, 5-7). As part of the development plan, the location was covered with terram, and the ground level raised by 0.5m, thus preserving the enclosure from further disturbance (Walsh 2002, 8). Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of revised upload: 4 January 2018