Excavation of Round Houses at Ballaghcullia

A previously unknown Middle to Late Bronze Age settlement was discovered and excavated in Ballaghcullia townland, Co. Roscommon, during archaeological works in advance of the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Project.
The portion of the site that fell within the development contained the remains of at least five houses and geophysical survey suggests that several more exist outside its limit. In the excavated examples, internal hearths, concentrations of stakeholes and structural details such as porches were clearly defined.
Artefacts and burnt bone were deposited within the houses in what appear to be structured patterns and all the houses were orientated roughly southeast. A small cemetery, comprising several pits containing cremation deposits, capped by clay and marked by stakes, was located to the south of the settlement. These elements and further structured patterning noted in depositions, the alignment and arrangement of the structures and the positioning of the different elements of the site relative to one another are likely to reflect and have the potential to help further our understanding of Bronze Age cosmological beliefs.
Along with the excavation of two burnt mounds adjacent the settlement and a paleoenvironmental core taken from a nearby bog, this site offers a previously unparalleled opportunity to investigate the later Bronze Age in this part of Ireland, the importance of which is increased by its location, less than 7km from the major archaeological complex of Rathcroghan.