Summary of Excavations at House 23 in 2008 Excavations during 2008 in the Deserted Village centred on House 23, which has

been under investigation since 2004. House 23 is located in the western village and consists of a small single roomed structure with opposing doorways located on the east and west walls. House 23 has clearly been subject to a major period of modification, as the north gable end wall is clearly inserted between the east and west walls, indicating that originally the building extended some distance to the north. House 23 was originally chosen for excavation because of its low and ruinous state, much more ruinous than the adjacent buildings and indeed most of the other buildings on the mountain, was thought to indicate that the building may have been constructed at an early date within the overall settlements history. A small section of a north south drainage channel had previously been exposed in the south of the building and it was suspected that this ran under the east west drain that ran between the two doorways. Upon excavation, this was proven to be correct and the earlier drain was followed into the northern part of the house where it split in to two shallow curving channels which formed a roughly circular arrangement around the northern part of the house. This curvilinear drainage pattern is highly unusual and is thought to relate to the earliest phase of the building. A partial excavation of a room located immediately north of the northern gable end wall was undertaken. The room was found to be a secondary addition, created after the shortening of House 23 had occurred, as it was found to have been built in a lean to fashion against the inserted north gable end wall. The room was filled by a deep deposit of peat ash and was found to have an external entrance to the east. The room is interpreted as an ash house created after the major phase of modification at House 23. The manure pit to the east of the structure was partially excavated and found to be different in form to those seen elsewhere within the village, again suggestive of an earlier date for the construction of House 23. Along the western side of the pit there is a row of substantial boulders which appear to mark a revetment supporting a pathway that runs from the eastern door to the roadway to the south. A second substantial stone built revetment was revealed approximately 2m south of House 23, which runs east to west for at least 9 metres. A small trench measuring 2m by 1m was excavated approximately 20m east of House 23 on the supposed line of the road. A well made cobbled surface was revealed immediately below the sod layer thus confirming the position of the road in this area. A total of five 1m by 5m trenches were excavated in the northern garden to attempt to locate the foundations of a building shown in this area on the 1838 Ordnance Survey Map but of which no traces are now visible above ground. No evidence of a former structure were identified, nor was there any evidence of a terraced cut on which a building could have been located. Therefore, it seems either that there is an error in the 1838 OS Map or that the building was sited on a raised platform which has subsequently been deliberately removed or eroded away. Finally, a north south field wall that divides the northern garden was investigated by a 5m by 2m trench along part of its course. The wall consisted of large boulders set up right on the surface of the sub soil and held in place by a bank of small stones and soil. As this construction technique is different to the majority of garden walls it had been proposed that the wall might be prehistoric in origin. Unfortunately, the only dating evidence consisted of a large number of 19 th century sherds of pottery and fragments of glass. These artefacts may simply derive from the adjacent garden plots and as yet, this feature cannot be conclusively dated.

Contents
1.1 Introduction 2. Excavations 2.1 The Manure Pit 2.2 The Western Garden 2.3 The Northern Garden 2.4 New Trenches in the North Garden 2.5 The North South Field Wall 2.6 The Southern Revetment 2.7 The Interior of House 23 2.8 The Roadway to the west of House 23 3.1 Artefacts 4.1 Discussion 4.2 Bibliography

List of Figures
Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Location of Achill Island Location of Slievemore Plan of the Deserted Villages on Slievemore Plan of House 23 Excavations Plan of the Manure Pit Elevation of the Blocked Western Doorway Section through the Northern Room Plan of the North - South Field Wall Elevation of the Southern Revetment Plan of the Interior of House 23

List of Plates
Plate 1 Mid excavation shot of the Manure Pit, with the revetment shown at the right of the shot Plate 2 Plate 3 Plate 4 Plate 5 Plate 6 Elevation of the blocked Western Doorway The Blocked Western Doorway from above Section across the Northern Room The northern room looking south The entrance into the northern room with the original continuation of the side wall visible at the bottom right Plate 7 Plate 8 Plate 9 Plate 10 Plate 11 Excavation of the new trenches north of House 23 The North South Fieldwall The Southern Revetment and the southern end of House 23 Elevation of the Southern Revetment The surface of the roadway in the trench to the west of House 23

Excavations at House 23 in 2008

1.1 Introduction The Deserted Villages on Slievemore, Achill, Co. Mayo represent a well known archaeological complex that are frequently visited by bus loads of tourists, and are periodically the focus of media attention in one form or another (Figures 1 & 2). Located on the lower slopes of the southern side of Slievemore Mountain the three villages are all located at about 50m OD and consist of small houses on either side of an east west roadway. The houses are small dry stone dwellings which have their long axis aligned north to south and are commonly divided in two internally. The southern half of the structure was used as a cattle byre whilst the northern half was the domestic space. The two halves are separated by a substantial cross drain that typically runs between two opposing doors set on the long walls of the house. The houses are set in three discrete clumps along the line of the major east to west roadway and many are associated with external manure pits and small enclosed garden plots. Larger fields are present to the south of the houses leading down into the valley floor, and to a lesser degree to the north of the houses before giving way to unenclosed mountain pasture (Figure 3). The villages are thought to have been built in the mid 18 th century and abandoned in the second half of the 19 th century when the population moved on mass to Dooagh. It is known that the villages were re-used as a transhumant settlement up until the 1940s and there are suspicious that the origins of the settlements may be earlier than the 18 th century. Investigating the chronology of the settlement is one of the major goals of Achill Field School, another is recording the Deserted Villages and their associated field systems and other structural remains. The former goal has been approached via excavation at two house sites, House 36 and House 23, whilst the latter goal has been achieved via a comprehensive EDM survey of the Deserted Villages, the surrounding field systems and enclosures and the buildings at Dirk and Annagh Booley villages. House 23 is the second building within Slievemore Deserted Village that has been investigated by Achill Field School. The excavation of House 23 was begun in 2004 under the direction of Audrey Horning, who continued to direct the excavations during the 2005 season (McDonald & Horning 2004; Horning & Brannon 2005). Excavation continued in 2006 under the direction of Simon Faolin and in 2007 it was continued under the direction of Ros Maoldin ( Faolin 2006; Maoldin 2007). House 23 was selected for excavation for a number of reasons. Of particular importance was its low ruinous state in comparison to other buildings which was seen as possibly indicating that the structure dates from an early period in the occupation of the village, and that the direct association between the building and its garden plots would enable the artefacts retrieved from the gardens to be securely associated with the occupants of the house. The original research design highlighted the need to examine both the house and its immediate setting within the village, and so excavations have taken place within the building, within the garden plots to the north and west and along the roadway to the south east. Excavations have also taken place within and around a semi subterranean stone structure, probably a souterrain, located south east of House 23 which was partially covered by the road surface. In 2008 a number of previously unfinished trenches were completed and new trenches were excavated in order to examine the manure pit to the east of the structure, in the north garden to examine the location of a second structure shown on the 1838 OS map

and to examine the nature of an extant field wall, to the south of the house to reveal a large stone revetment, and on the roadway to the southwest of the house in order to complement the investigation of the roadway to the south east (Figure 4). An explicit part of the original research design for House 23 was a focus on what Horning termed Household Archaeology which centre on the notion that the daily experiences and interactions of an individual serves to define concepts of self and other, as if much if not more so than the individuals participation (knowingly and unknowingly) within a broader social, political and economic system. The aims of the approach are stated as being to reconstruct the experiences of each member of a household in terms of their day to day activities; how those activities shape and are shaped by the home itself its layout, materials, construction, alteration, and perception, and the immediate outside environment. (McDonald & Horning 2004, 6-8). Unfortunately with the changes in staff over successive seasons the promise of this approach has yet to be fully realised. During this season little attempt was made to apply this approach, as the director was un-familiar with the technique and unsure how to apply it at a practical level. Instead a simpler approach was undertaken, led by the physical nature of the archaeology rather than by a theoretical perspective. Each excavation was completed in a manner in which best suited the physical nature of the archaeology, and it is hoped that the thoroughness of the site recording and archiving will permit the application of theoretical approaches retrospectively. Whilst this report simply details the excavations that took place in 2008, in the near future Achill Field School will compile all of the information from the five seasons into a comprehensive report detailing House 23 and its environs. It is intended that during this process it will be possible to apply the techniques of household archaeology to the data recorded, and this process will be undertaken with the assistance of the original instigator, Audrey Horning.

2.1 The Manure Pit (Figure 5; Plate 1) This trench exposed a possible manure pit, c.1201, to the south east of the eastern doorway of House 23. The trench measured 5m in length and 3m in width but a portion to the south was not excavated due to constant water logging. The manure pit was defined on the west by a large row of boulders, c.1205, which ran parallel with the eastern wall of the house and connected with the southern revetment. The northern edge was not exposed and must lie between the top of the trench and the bottom of the revetment of the northern garden. The eastern side of the manure pit was defined by a moderately sloping cut which dropped down from the bank next to the eastern stream. The surface of this cut was covered in small angular stones forming a rough layer of cobbling, c.1206. The southern end of the manure pit was not exposed and must lie between the south of the trench and the top of the southern revetment. The pit had a maximum width of 3.4m but its length is unknown other than it must be greater than 3m. The positioning of the pit meant that there was a narrow path running from the entrance of House 23 which was 1.8m wide, and if a second path ran eastwards from the entrance towards the stream it would pass between the top of the manure pit and the bottom of the revetment of the north garden and therefore must have been less than 1m wide. The manure pit was filled with stones in a variety of sizes, and some degree of patterning was evidenced. Small and medium stones, c.1202, filled the western side of the pit, there was a large boulder c.1203 in the centre and medium and larger stones, c1204, filled the eastern side. These stones are unlikely to have simply collapsed from the eastern walls of House 23 because the natural process of collapse would have created a pattern where the larger stones were at the west and the size would have increasingly diminished to the east. It is therefore suggested that the manure pit was deliberately back filled at some point, which is consistent with House 23 having been abandoned at an early date. The stones were set in a dark brown silty matrix which was covered by a very thin layer of turf. Numerous finds were recovered from the silty material between the stones, as detailed below. 2.2 The Western Garden (Figure 6; Plates 2 & 3) Excavations continued in the western garden when the existing trench was extended to reach the blocked western doorway. This excavation revealed the unusual way in which the door had been blocked. The inside part of the doorway had been filled in by coursed dry stone walling only one row deep. Behind this there was a soil infill consisting of greyish brown sandy silt. The outside part of the doorway was not covered by dry stone walling but a rough pile of stone that extended well beyond the line of the outer wall. It is suspected that this is a collapsed dry stone wall, as there was not enough stone present to suggest that this pile ever reached the top of the doorway. It is therefore thought that the doorway was blocked by two thin dry stone walls with a soil core, and that the outer wall subsequently collapsed. As with the manure pit this is an unusual arrangement as all other blocked doorways seem to have been blocked by a solid wall of dry stone up to three rows thick. The difference in the way in which the doors had been blocked is again consistent with House 23 having been abandoned at an early date.

2.3 The Northern Garden (Figure 7; Plates 4 6) Excavations continued in the northern garden concentrating on the small room with the curvilinear wall that measured 4.5m by 1.8m internally. The infill of the eastern half of this room was removed in order to reveal the foundation cut of the room, the outer face of the inserted wall and a section through the in filled material. The foundation cut, c.1070, was revealed to be a steeply sloping oval cut with a very small flat base against the rear of the inserted wall. The curvilinear wall, c.720, was found to be very poorly built consisting of three courses of field stone that were only a single stone deep. The wall was 0.35m tall and only extended halfway down to the bottom of the foundation cut, the rest of the rear of the room simply consisting of the cut subsoil sloping down to a depth of 0.9m. The room appeared to have had a doorway to the east where a large upright stone marked one side of it, c.1071. The entrance was not as deep as the base of the foundation cut and a rough stone step was located inside the doorway permitting access. This combination of features suggests that the northern room was not the original end of the house as had originally been thought, but was a rather flimsy lean too structure with an external entrance. The nature of the wall was simply too slight to have supported a heavy roof and the way in which the entrance did not reach the base of the room also suggests it was not an original feature. However given that the inserted wall was clearly not an original feature either, it has to maintained that the original wall of the structure was once located in this area. It seems likely then that the curving foundation cut was the original foundation cut of the structure, that the original wall was fully removed when the structure was shortened and that its stone was reutilised to build the inserted wall, and that subsequently a small lean too structure was built against the inserted wall and reused the original foundation cut. The infill of the room comprised of a deep layer of peat ash, c.1069, covered by a rich greyish black silty soil, c.1068. It is therefore thought that the lean too structure was used to store ash for fertiliser, or at the least that was the last purpose it was put to. Several artefacts were recovered from these fills as described below.

2.4 New Trenches in the North Garden (Plate 7) A series of 5m by 1m trenches were excavated in the north garden in a position where the 1837 OS map shows a second rectangular structure. It was originally intended to combine these trenches into a single 10m by 5m trench over the structure but as no structure was discovered this excavation was halted. The trenches cut through a series of north south aligned lazy beds, and all that was revealed through excavation was the base of three of the channels, collectively c.1304, and the overlying soil c.1303 and turf, c.1301 and c.1302. Because the sub soil was otherwise intact it was determined that no house platform had ever been cut in this area and that either the OS map shows a building where there was never actually a structure, or that the structure was very slightly built and either left no archaeological traces or such shallow traces that the cultivation of the lazy beds had entirely removed them. The former of these explanations may be most likely as the OS map shows only a single building to the east where there are in fact two structures. The lazy beds were wide and shallow. The cuts c.1304 into the sub soil measured 1.5m in width and between 0.1m and 0.15m in depth. The covering soil c.1303 was dark grey and quite silty with a very homogenous character. It was between 0.3m and 0.4m in depth and contained small fragments of modern pottery and glass which were mainly confined to the southern two trenches. The soil was overlain by various small stretches of buried turf c.1302 which were in turn covered by the modern turf layer c.1301.

2.5 The North South Field Wall (Figure 8; Plate 8) A field wall runs from north to south through the north garden dividing the garden into two and marking a shift in the orientation of the lazy beds. To the east of the wall the lazy beds are seen to run from north to south whilst to the west of the wall the lazy beds run from east to west. Prior to excavation the field wall was represented by a low earthen bank with a rather rounded profile from which large stones were projecting in several places. A small trench was excavated along the line of the field wall and the turf was removed to reveal the upper layers of the wall as survived. The bank c.1101 was removed in this area and was found to consist of a greyish black silty soil with frequent small angular stones. The bank of material covered a row of vertically set large stones c.1102 which rested directly onto the top of the subsoil and were held in place by the overlying bank. The bank was up to 1.5m wide and up to 0.6m high. The stones of the wall were between 0.3m by 0.3m by 0.25m and 0.6m by 0.4m by 0.3m in size and were variously sub angular and sub rounded. At the north of the trench the stones were no longer vertical but laid flat against the sub soil and were covered by the bank material. This suggests that the bank was a secondary feature which had been built over a wall marked only by a row of stones that had partially collapsed. Where the stones still stood they were encapsulated by the bank but where they had collapsed they were simply covered over and whilst the line was maintained no attempt was made to re-erect the fallen stones. No dating evidence was recovered that directly dated the creation of the stone wall, but a moderate assemblage of modern pottery and glass was recovered from the turf and bank material. Because the original stone wall was not set in a cut or otherwise supported it is unlikely that it pre dates the bank by any considerable degree because it had only partially collapsed before the bank was constructed. It would be expected that if the stone wall was considerably older than the bank it would have completely collapsed due to its lack of foundations or support.

2.6 The Southern Revetment (Figure 9; Plates 9 & 10) Although not part of the original excavation plan for this season, the abandonment of the new excavations in the north garden permitted the exploration of the southern revetment to the south of House 23. The southern revetment was located 2m south of the southern wall of the house and they were separated by a gently sloping piece of ground. The revetment c.1205 was revealed simply be removing the modern turf layer c.1207 and a small build up of overlying soil c.1206. The revetment consisted of a substantial dry stone wall at least 5m long and up to 0.7m high. The revetment continued up to 2m beyond the western end of the excavated area and 4m beyond the eastern end of the excavated area. The revetment consisted of medium sized sub angular stones with maximum dimensions of between 0.2m and 0.4m, apart from at the east in the area where the eastern side of the manure pit probably connects with it, where the revetment is made of medium sized boulders with maximum dimensions between 0.5m and 0.8m. The revetment was close to vertical and may have supported the continuation of the roadway in the gap between it and the southern wall of House 23. A very small area of the subsoil at the base of the revetment was revealed and no trace of cobbling was located suggesting that the road did not run to the south of the revetment, but this has yet to be conclusively demonstrated. The overlying silty soil c.1206 was a dark brownish grey in colour and had a soft compaction. A surprising number of finds were recovered from the thin layer of turf c.1207 and the build up of soil c.1206 that covered the revetment c.1205. The finds assemblage consisted of numerous pieces of 19 th century pottery and glass.

2.7 The Interior of House 23 (Figure 10) Excavations in the interior of House 23 were limited to re-examining the floor and establishing the nature and sequence of the drains. In 2006 and 2007 an east west aligned drain c.505 was uncovered that ran between the two doorways. This was constructed from rather large long stones. An earlier drain c.515 was also discovered that ran from the fireplace in a sinuous course under the drain and down to the middle of the southern wall. This was a much smaller feature and consisted of small stones in a very shallow gully. This season a second curving drain c.1062 was discovered forming a symmetrical pattern with the first. It ran from the hearth out to the west before curving back to meet the first just before it ran under the east west drain. It was again a shallow gully filled with small stones c.1063, which was 0.15m wide and 0.05m deep. The stones were covered by a dark silty fill that was rich in charcoal, c1061. The gully ran for a total distance of 4m from the hearth at the north of the building to the east west drain in the southern half. Due to its curving nature the mid point of the gully was 1.7m further west than the northern and southern ends. To the south of the east west drain the two shallow gullys c.515 and c.1062 combined to form a deeper channel, c.1050. It had vertical sides and a flat base and was up to 0.25m deep. Its sides and base were lined with medium sized stones c.1051 which was overlain by a softly compacted grey sandy silt c.1052. Just before the southern wall the drain became significantly deeper again, apparently dropping almost vertically to the base of the southern wall, but it was impossible to excavate due to the presence of protruding stones from the southern wall. It is therefore suspected that this feature must have been cut before the southern wall was built. No finds were recovered from these drains, but it is suspected that they belong to the original phase of the structure and may have been laid before the southern, eastern and western walls were built. It is surprising that the drains were not recorded in the base of the northern room, but perhaps this was deepened when it was modified or the drains simply never extended along the entire length of the original building. 2.8 The road to the west of House 23 (Plate 11) A small trench was excavated over the roadway to the west of House 23 at the end of the 2008 season. The trench measured 2m by 1m and was aligned with its long axis running east to west. The road surface was discovered immediately below the modern turf at a depth of between 0.1m and 0.15m. The road surface was found to differ from east to west. At the east of the trench it consisted of medium sized sub angular stones but about two thirds of the way along the trench there was an abrupt change to much smaller stones. The change was marked by a clear north south division, but the overall effect was of a continuous even surface right across the trench, rather than of a repaired or modified surface. It is not clear why such a change occurs and the trench will need to be expanded in order to resolve this issue. This will occur during the 2009 excavation season.

3.1 Artefacts Artefacts continued to be found in considerable numbers during the 2008 season. In particular the manure pit contained a high concentration of artefacts, consistent with the deposition of domestic rubbish into the feature. Finds from this feature included a variety of post-Medieval pottery sherds and pieces of bottle glass in a variety of colours. A small number of finds were recovered from the north room including pottery, glass and a large fragment of an iron cooking pot or cauldron. In the west garden finds were concentrated immediately around the blocked doorway and consisted of a mixture of small pieces of pottery and glass. A small quantity of artefacts were recovered from the trenches in the north garden but these were noticeably more frequent in the southern most two trenches than elsewhere. As these trenches were the closest to the house it appears that these finds represent material thrown directly out of the house. Had the artefacts first been thrown into the manure pit, before being spread onto the garden along with the manure, then their distribution should have been much more even across the garden plot. Finally artefacts were recovered in large quantities from the turf and soil overlying the southern revetment. This may well represent material being cleaned from the area between the house and the revetment, or simply being thrown southwards from the doorways. A complete analysis of all the finds from all seasons of this excavation and in particular a study of the distribution of finds amongst the different contexts requires compilation. A full list of artefacts from the excavations at House 23 will be included in the final report detailing the excavation of this structure.

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4.1 Discussion Excavations in 2008 have brought to an end the major investigations of House 23 and its environs. The interior of the building has been excavated down to the floor surface and the drainage channels fully recorded. One half of the northern room has been extensively excavated to its floor level and its relationship with House 23 has been established. It is not thought that this excavation could be extended without seriously destabilising the rear wall of the northern room, and therefore no further excavations should be undertaken at this location. Excavations in the west garden have been completed allowing for complete cross sections of the garden deposits to be examined and for the outside of the blocked western doorway to be examined and recorded. Excavations in the Manure Pit have revealed the width and composition of the structural remains and the infilling of the feature. Its full length has not been revealed but the feature must be come to an end before either the southern revetment or the revetment at the south of the north garden are reached allowing for a reasonable estimate of the length to be calculated. Excavations in the north garden failed to uncover the suspected second building and now its existence as shown on the 1838 map has to be seriously questioned. A simple sequence of garden deposits and related features were revealed and have been fully recorded. It is now intended to backfill the trenches in the north and west gardens and in the northern room and reinstate the ground to its original appearance. It has yet to be decided what will happen to the manure pit, the southern revetment and the interior of House 23, as these are suitable for presentation to the public and if done correctly could considerably enhance the experience of visiting the Deserted Village. Achill Field School is currently investigating a number of possibilities, ranging from full backfilling through to permanent display, and will consult with all relevant bodies after preparing a formal document detailing a variety of proposals. Achill Field School is also considering whether the investigations of House 23 should now be concluded or whether a final season of excavations at the site should be undertaken in 2009. Possible areas which could be the target of small scale investigation include the flat area between the southern wall of House 23 and the southern revetment, and the area of damp ground to the south of the southern revetment in order to locate the continuation of the road surface, and/or completely exposing the manure pit by extending the trench a small distance to the north, south and west. If it is decided not to continue for a final season then all of the work that has been undertaken since 2004 shall be compiled into a single comprehensive report detailing the work on House 23 which will be submitted for publication. If excavation is to continue then the compilation of such a report will be delayed until the final excavations are completed.

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4.2 Bibliography Horning, A & Brannon, N. 2005 Survey of the Prehistoric and Historic Landscape of Slievemore. Archaeological Report. Unpublished excavation report prepared by Achill Field School McDonald, T. & Horning, A.J. 2004 Survey of the Prehistoric and Historic Landscape of Slievemore. Interim Report. Unpublished excavation report prepared by Achill Field School Faolin, S. 2006 Interim report on Archaeological Excavations, Slievemore, Achill, Co. Mayo. June September 2006. Unpublished excavation report prepared by Achill Field School Maoldin 2007 Interim Report on Archaeological Excavations, Slievemore, Achill, Co. Mayo. May October 2007. Achill Archaeological Field School. Unpublished excavation report prepared by Achill Field School

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