Archaeological Excavation Report

Tenant farm

This report constitutes the final excavation report for an estate farmstead that included three buildings and a cobbled yard in the townland of Lavally, Co. Galway. The site was excavated as part of the archaeological excavation programme in advance of construction for N18 Oranmore to Gort road scheme. The site was located within the lands acquired for the new road and was identified during the course of The Environmental Impact Assessment for the scheme. A survey of the dilapidated up-standing remains and hand excavation of a number of trenches during Phase 1 (E3709) investigations along the route confirmed the existence of at least two structures. The Phase 2 excavations revealed the presence of three buildings in all, a cobbled yard and a series of associated features.

The complex of three buildings represents a mid19th–century farmstead likely to have been constructed by a tenant farmer of the Lavally Estate in post-famine times. The farmstead was probably abandoned in the earlier half of the 20th century.

Authors: Finn Delaney, Alison McQueen & Gerry Mullins

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