June 20, 2018
Having removed all of the collapse layers from the building, this week we began drawing the faces of the baulks to record the vertical stratigraphy of the site. Towards the end of the week, once these drawings were complete we removed the cross baulks. With the baulks removed we have a much better sense of the size and organization of the building. It means too that we can now investigate the doorway, which was concealed under one of our baulks. Continued work around the exterior of the building has revealed a number of areas of possible paving or cobbling. An area of flat stones leading up to the doorway seems to be a rough pathway, and another area of smaller stones at the side of the building may constitute a rough cobbled surface. The weather took a turn for the worse this week, so instead of our planned hike on Wednesday, we took a trip to the Museum of Country Life at Turlough Park, Castlebar. The museum houses the state’s ethnographic collections, and the visit helped us to reflect on the building we are currently excavating. Continued rain on Friday meant we stayed in the office to carry out post-excavation work including digitizing site drawings, as well as planning for our site open day next Thursday 21 June.
