Neolithic and Bronze Age Landscapes of North Mayo: Report 2011

Bungurra River drains the Knocknalower valley floor in a Northwest direction and then turns South
to drain the lowlands East of Faulagh hill, before flowing into the Northeast corner of Carrowmore
Lake.
Present day settlement and farmland totals 1650ha, or 31% of the area, while blanket bog covers
3,635 ha (69%). The major block of present day settlement is on the lowland along the West coast,
the West slope of Gortmelia hill, the Owenduff valley floor and the lower Southwest slope of
Dooncarton hill. A continuous narrow band of settlement stretches along the North and Northeast
coast from Dooncarton townland, through Barnaguillew, Carnhill and Pollatomish, to Aghoos.
Elsewhere, the present day settlements are in the form of small, fairly fertile oasis within the
bogland. These islands include the land adjacent to the Glenamoy River, close to Bellanaboy bridge,
the lower South slope of Faulagh hill, the East slope of Knocknalower hill and a band of land that
stretches from the Northwest corner of Carrwomore Lake to Barnatra.
Turbary, or the practice of turf cutting, is generally practised in close proximity to the present
settlements. This is most evident in the case of the West and Southwest slopes of Dooncarton hill
and most of Gortmelia hill, which are close to the quite densely settled villages of Dooncarton,
Graghil, Gortbrack, Inver and Gortmelia. These villages were even more densely settled in prefamine
times. Elsewhere, turbary is normally practised on South and West hillslopes, to facilitate the
drying of the turf and on bogland that is in close proximity to roads. Completely cut-away tracts of
bogland are present on the two previously mentioned hillslopes, on the slopes of Carrowmore hill,
on the Southwest slope of Faulagh hill and on the South slope of Knocknalower hill. The major
continuous tract of uncut bog covers the lowland in the East of the study area, the summit and
North and East slopes of Faulagh hill, the Southeast spur of Faulagh hill and the lowland between
Faulagh and Pollatomish hills. An exception here is the turbary practised on the low-lying bog in
Aghoos townland. Part of the surface of the low-lying, eastern bog is now planted with coniferous
forest. The other areas of uncut bog cover the summit and North slope of Knocknalower hill, large
areas of the summit and South to Southeast slopes of Dooncarton hill, the upper slopes of
Pollatomish hill and the low-lying area between Gortmelia and Carrowmore hills.
Evidence of prehistoric forest cover in the area is gained from the extensive remains of tree stumps,
trunks and branches, predominantly of pine and birch, but with some oak, preserved in their levels
of growth either in lower layers of the bog or under it. A band of bog containing such remains covers
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