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XV. 



A EEPOET ON SOME EXCAVATIONS EECENTLY CONDUCTED IN 



CO. GALWAY. 



By R a. S. MACALISTEE, Litt.D., F.S.A. 



[Plates XLITI-XLV.] 



Read November 13, 1016. Piiblislied Mauch 21, 1917. 



Foe various reasons opportunity for archaeological research has not been 

 abundant during 1916, and I have only three excavations to report upon. 

 They were not fruitful, but on the other hand were not wholly deficient in 

 result. 



I 



I begin with one investigation, the results of which were wholly negative. 

 On the western side of the Limerick and Sligo railway-line, about midway 

 between the stations of Craughwell and Ardrahan, there stands the castle of 

 Clochroke. Two or three fields to the south of this is a place where in 

 digging railway-ballast some years ago, a cist was found, containing a skeleton, 

 apparently of a woman, with a couple of urns. These were all, unfortunately, 

 dispersed, and no record was kept of them, so far as I know. Miss Matilda 

 Eedington, the Honorary Secretary of the Galway Archaeological and Historical 

 Society, brought me to see the spot ; and inspection of the site encouraged 

 me to hope that other cists might be found. Through the good offices of 

 Dr. Foley of Ardrahan, the consent of Mr. Tarpey, the owner, was obtained to 

 conduct an excavation. A whole day was spent on the site, with three men 

 testing the field in every spot that seemed promising. The method followed 

 was to prod in the ground with a sharp-pointed iron bar, and to dig down on 

 every lai-ge stone found by this means. Between thirty and forty trials were 

 thus made, but entirely without result. 



II 



I now come to a group of investigations made on the demesne of Mason- 

 brook, near Loughrea, the property of J. J. Smyth, Esq. I must express 

 the very grateful thanks which all archaeologists will feel towards Mr, 



