The area of the chosen grid in north-west Connemara contains possible monuments of early medieval date, namely holy wells, ringforts and island cashels. The latter are a form of lake settlement, mainly constructed of stone and encompassed by an enclosure of dry stone, which were approached by boat or via causeway. All three lake habitations of the study area are island cashels, which are found in the major lakes. Gosling (1993) states, that the island cashels of western county Galway mirror the nature of the surrounding landscape in addition to indicating a shortage of wood. He also stresses that the low number of lake settlements within the county is due to a lack of knowledge as well as inaccessibility. In terms of ringforts, Gosling (1993) describes a small cluster in north-west Connemara, mainly on or near hilltops. Most of these monuments in the region are univallate and most of their entrances face east. Souterrains are only present in 16% of the ringforts, whereas 27% showed evidence for hut sites. In addition, he stresses that many ringforts of the area are in poor condition. A high percentage of the holy wells of western Galway are located along the shoreline, so called ‘tidal’ wells. Some of the wells were worshipped into the 17th century however, the foundation of the majority is unknown (Gosling, 1993).
For the Viking Age a Norse presence has been proven for the study area and beyond.
Early Medieval Connemara
Eastern Window of Cartron Medieval Church (post-dating this project)