M.V. Duignan's Excavations at the Ringfort of Rathgurreen, Co. Galway, 1948-9

Abstract:Excavations in 1948 and 1949 identified a two-phase bivallate ringfort of the Early Historic period at Rathgurreen, Co. Galway. Approximately a quarter of the site was dug, comprising the south-western quadrant and the entrance area. Well-preserved dumps of animal bone and sea-shells were discovered throughout the excavated area, while a number of different crafts (such as the production of purple dye) were represented in the artefactual assemblage. The latter also included a fragment of an oil lamp of Roman origin. The site is just one of over thirty ringforts on the Maree peninsula, although it is probably the best preserved of these. Radiocarbon analyses date the occupation of the site from the fourth or fifth century AD to at least the ninth century.