The quarrying of an oval sandhill measuring roughly 30 by 17 metres destroyed most of what archaeologists would later identify as a settlement at An Rinn Bhuí, An Tonn Bhán, situated just above the shoreline. What remained told a compelling story of daily life in medieval Ireland: human remains of a young person aged between 12 and 16 years, alongside bones from cattle, horses, and sheep or goats that would have provided food and livelihood for the inhabitants.

The disturbed site yielded fascinating glimpses into medieval domestic life through fragments of everted rim cooking ware; pottery designed with outward-turned rims that was common in Irish households of the period. Perhaps most intriguing was the discovery of part of an upper stone from a rotary quern, the hand-operated mill that would have been essential for grinding grain into flour for daily bread. The presence of abundant shells, burnt organic material and fire-cracked stones painted a picture of communal meals and food preparation, whilst the specific pottery styles and goat bones helped archaeologists date the site to the late medieval period.

A rescue excavation was swiftly organised following the initial destruction, though by then much of the archaeological context had been lost to the quarrying equipment. Archaeologists managed to examine what remained of a single occupation layer around the rim of the devastated area, recovering additional finds that matched the loose material already discovered. Whilst the full extent and nature of the settlement will never be fully understood due to its destruction, the surviving evidence suggests this was once a thriving coastal community, making use of both land and sea resources in a tradition that continued along Ireland’s Atlantic coast for generations.