Weir - fish

The National Monuments Service's description

Located in an intertidal peat bed at the W end of Dugort beach, on the N coast of Achill Island. This row of timber stakes, exposed by coastal erosion, was first noted in June 2015, and was surveyed by Achill Archaeological Field School in July 2015. The stakes protrude from a layer of intertidal peat which also incorporates numerous preserved tree trunks, roots and branches. Amidst the profusion of natural timber remains, eighteen man-made timber stakes have been positively identified, and a further twelve possible stakes were noted. The stake row (L 5.75m of positively identified stakes; L c. 17m including possible examples) is oriented NE–SW. The stakes, which barely protrude above the surface of the peat layer, range in diameter from 3cm to 6cm. The distance between individual stakes ranges from 0.2m to 0.6m, with the majority set 0.2-0.3m apart. It may be the remains of a fish trap or weir, erected to exploit the mouth of a stream which in the past flowed into the intertidal zone. Alternatively, if the stakes predate the inundation of the peat layer by rising sea levels, then the stake row may represent the remains of a fence. (Pers. comm. Stuart Rathbone, Achill Archaeological Field School, July 2015).

Attached images uploaded courtesy of Stuart Rathbone:
MA042-047----_01
MA042-047----_02

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 18 August 2015