The archaeological site discovered at Liopa Thoir in Co Galway RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta

A POTENTIAL CRANNÓG site has been located in Co Galway, according to an archaeologist. 

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta reported this morning that a new site of archaeological importance has been discovered at An Liopa Thoir, east of An Spidéal. 

Local man Jimmy Ó Céide discovered the site while out walking after Storm Brendan. 

Archaeologist Michael Gibbons said the site is of great importance and that he believes that it is a crannóg. However, this is yet to be confirmed. 

A crannóg is an ancient fortified dwelling constructed usually in a lake in Ireland or Scotland. 

Gibbons told RTÉ that there are very few sites like this in the country and that there was evidence that people had lived in this coastal area of Galway since 7,000 BC. 

A close up image of the archaeological site discovered in Co Galway RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta

“This is a very important site. It amazes me that a site of such interest is here, not far at all from the other one further west in An Liopa. They are not common in this part of the country, or indeed anywhere in Ireland,” Gibbons said. 

“If you look around here, initially, there’s nothing to see but if you look more closely you see the wood … this may well be a crannóg,” he said. 

“It’s much wider than a bog road … sometimes you find a bog road like this in the middle of the county, around Ballinasloe, it may be a bog road, but I think it’s more likely to be a dwelling place.” 

Gibbons has written to the National Monuments Service and its specialist underwater unit are due to visit the site in the coming weeks to undertake an official examination.