A “LOST” 18th century quay and a pre-Christian oyster kitchen midden are among a series of new finds recorded in Connemara by archaeologist Michael Gibbons.
The 40-metre long quay in Errislannan on the southern shore of Clifden bay may have been built by the Heather family, landlords in the area over two centuries ago.
It is linked by an inter-tidal roadway, according to Mr Gibbons, who came upon it when walking the shore with two boatmen, John Brittain of Cleggan and John Conneely of Clifden.
“There is no documentation of this harbour anywhere, and it does not appear on any map. However, the linking roadway runs around the edge of a beautiful lagoon known as Crumpaun,” he said.
Mr Gibbons found the remains of an oyster kitchen midden or shell heap with domestic waste in the same area, similar to one dated at around 1800 BC on the Errismore peninsula. He also discovered a fulachta fiadh, or Bronze Age cooking site, while surveying the locality, close to a spring well.
The finds are among a number of discoveries by Mr Gibbons and colleagues in Joyce country and Connemara – including recent identification of two different coastal middens, in association with Dr Emily Murray of Queen’s University Belfast.
One of the middens is close to Killary harbour and dates from the sixth century, while the other at Renvyle beach is a periwinkle heap dating from the late Mesolithic period. The Renvyle example is believed to be one of three such Mesolithic sites on the west coast.
“The Renvyle site provides important evidence of hunter-gatherer groups, using the rich shellfish resources off the Connemara coast. Other Mesolithic finds in Connemara include a number of spearheads from Streamstown bay and from the Corrib from Oughterard,” Mr Gibbons said.
"There also appears to have been a major Mesolithic campsite on the Corrib river, indicated by a large number of stone axe finds which have been found over a number of years," he added. "This all suggests we have many archaeological features still unmapped and awaiting discovery, he told The Irish Times.
“During a recent field trip and lecture through Joyce country, as part of a walking festival organised by Trish Walsh of Petersburg Outdoor Pursuits Centre, I was approached by two different people who told me about their own discoveries,” the archaeologist continued. “Michael O’Sullivan discovered a wedge tomb in a forest near Cong, and a dug-out canoe in a bog on the shores of Lough Mask, south of Finney. In the same area, I was told of a possible ritual site found by a Rosie Bush, a German gardener who lives locally.”
Mr Gibbons also came across a previously unmapped 18th to 19th century settlement north of this area, similar in design to others he has mapped in Lettermullen, south Connemara, and resembling some of the deserted villages on Achill island in Co Mayo.