N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Project, Co Roscommon

A series of mini-documentaries are being created as part of cataloguing the archaeological works we are undertaking on the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Project.

Click on the tabs below to watch. Each video lasts for around 5 minutes. Some are subtitled if you wish to turn off the sound.

Glossary

  • Anthropogenic: Any changes in nature made by people.
  • Bulk Sample: The systematic collection of soils from archaeological deposits for further scientific analysis.
  • CPO: Compulsory Purchase Order (or the full extent/footprint of the proposed road).
  • Geophysical Survey: A non-invasion method of detecting and mapping buried archaeology.
  • Metal Detection: Use of a metal detector to search for metal artefacts in soils or under water (a metal detector can only be used with a licence issued by the National Monuments Service & the National Museum of Ireland).
  • Stage (i): The first stages of on-site work such as digging test trenches and undertaking surveys, for example, building and geophysical surveys etc.
  • Stage (ii): This occurs following the completion of Stage (i) testing – when archaeological remains have been found the surrounding area is stripped back to reveal their full extents.
  • Stage (iii): This is when archaeological excavation is undertaken.
  • Stage (iv): The post-excavation stage where specialist work is undertaken (e.g. finds analysis, radiocarbon dating etc), and reports and publications are produced.
AMS

Video Documentary Series

Mini-documentaries on the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Project. Each video lasts around 5 minutes and describes various stages of the excavations and fieldwork.
AMS

Forestry Excavation

As part of the N5 Road Project in Co Roscommon, AMS were required to test 78ha of felled forestry. Once the trees were felled and removed, the stumps were extracted by a specialist stump harvester.
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Palaeobotany near Ballaghcullia

Palaeobotanists study the plants that grew in the past. Palaeobotanists from National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) visited Roscommon last summer and took a core from a bog near Ballaghcullia.
AMS

Neolithic Axe

Archaeologists working at Shankill found a Neolithic stone axehead that is over 5,000 years old and was made from a very specific type of stone called Langdale tuff.

Metal Working at Shankill

At Shankill, a site reputably founded by St Patrick, archaeologists have uncovered traces of early medieval agriculture, burial and a forge.
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Fulachtaí Fia (Burnt Mounds)

Burnt mounds, or fullachtaí fia, are one of the commonest types of sites found by archaeologists working on projects in Ireland.
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Medieval Coin at Gortnacrannagh

Gortnacranagh is a medieval site. These coins date from the era of Edward I or II. This coin is a silver penny.
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Souterrains

Souterrains are underground, stone-lined passages dating from the early medieval period. At Killeen East we found a number of souterrains inside a rath (ringfort).