2001:045 - BALLYCASEY MORE, Clare

Five definite archaeological sites were initially identified prior to the commencement of the Newmarket-on-Fergus Bypass (Dromoland to Ballycasey Road Improvement Scheme) Phase II. One of these, AR44, was located to the south of the Limerick–Ennis road in an area of undulating land in the townland of Ballycasey. This area was initially stripped of topsoil to expose any underlying archaeological features. Topsoil-stripping revealed a number of features, which were concentrated in three main areas of the site. These were subsequently named areas A, B and C.

The southern area, AR44A, comprised a number of linear mounds which may have formed an enclosure. Removal of the topsoil showed two linear alignments of stone, with the second of these being L-shaped in plan (F2023). Initially it was felt that both of these features may originally have formed a rectangular enclosure, but excavation revealed that they were unrelated and of different construction. The construction of the linear wall (F2001) which was aligned east–west was much more haphazard than F2023 and was probably a field boundary wall, possibly constructed after a phase of land clearance. It measured 12.7m east–west by 3.1m with a maximum height of 0.35m.

The second wall, F2023, was much more purposefully constructed, with stone-revetted sides throughout. The section of wall aligned east–west measured 10.5m, while the section aligned north–south measured 4m; both had a width of 1.2m. It is quite possible that this feature may have formed part of a cottage or an enclosure of some kind. No evidence of a western wall was uncovered but a linear outcrop, aligned north–south, was present where such a wall would be expected. This outcrop may have acted as the foundation for a wall, with any related evidence having subsequently been removed.

No finds were uncovered during the excavation of the above deposits. However, a drainage ditch was exposed underneath an area of F2023. These features would appear to have been related. The northern wall of F2023 was over 10m in length, suggesting that it may have been too large to represent a cottage wall. This structure appeared to be post-medieval to modern in date.

Area 44B, located further north, contained a post-medieval east–west wall which appeared to be an overgrown field boundary. To the north of this a stony deposit (probable trackway) was revealed. This was thicker and more substantial to the west and narrowed as the feature ran eastwards. It consisted of compact light brown clay containing 65% medium-sized limestone pieces and occasional flecks of charcoal. The deposit measured 9.5m in length and ranged from 1.9m to 2.15m in width. The depth also varied from 0.05m to 0.15m, being thickest at the western edge and thinning out to the east. Finds from this feature included animal bone, cremated bone and fragments of Bronze Age pottery.

Once this deposit was removed another east–west deposit was revealed, cut by a large number of stake-holes — 126 in total. These stake-holes appeared to be arranged almost haphazardly, but they may be interpreted as forming two irregular lines. They were generally round, and their dimensions ranged from 0.02m to 0.12m in width and from 0.01m to 0.18m in depth. The fill of these features tended not to vary. It consisted of mid-light grey-brown silty clay, occasionally containing charcoal and small stones. The sides were vertical and straight-cut; the bottoms were mostly pointed, with occasional flat-bottomed examples. Finds included bone, cremated bone, fragments of worked chert and fragments of prehistoric pottery. The finds suggest a Bronze Age date, relating the stake-holes to the trackway. The stake-holes therefore post-date the deposit but appear to pre-date the trackway. It is possible that the stakes supported a fence or boundary of some sort which may have been demolished prior to the construction of the trackway.

The primary deposit pre-dated most of the features on this site. It was located below the trackway and was revealed following the removal of the stony spread. It was a linear deposit, 18m in length, and its width varied from 2.6m in the west to 1.1m in the east; it reached a maximum depth of 0.4m and consisted of brown silty clay containing frequent flecks of charcoal and occasional small stone inclusions. A number of finds were recovered from this context. They included a chert arrowhead, a struck stone, two fragments of worked flint, prehistoric pottery and a curved copper fragment. All of these finds support a Bronze Age date for this site and suggest dumping of domestic waste. These two linear deposits formed a trackway across a natural ridge in the landscape.

AR44C lay to the north of AR44B. Thirty features were located in this area. The largest of these was an Early Christian rectangular enclosure ditch, which was partially exposed (40.2m in total) on the north, north-eastern, west and south-western sides. The southern side was destroyed by the construction of a road some decades ago, while the eastern side was not exposed as it ran beyond the limit of the road-take. Bedrock outcropped towards the centre of the western section of the enclosure and was not cut through. It is possible that this could have been used as the entrance to the enclosure. Following topsoil-stripping it became apparent that this area had been disturbed during the construction of the existing road and any archaeology that may once have existed here was completely destroyed. The fill of the ditch was homogeneous. It consisted of compact mid-dark brown silty clay containing 50% large stones and boulders (0.25–0.4m in length). Large amounts of animal bone were recovered, along with very occasional flecks of charcoal. The northern and north-western stretches of the ditch were very uniform, with an average width of 2.1m and the break of slope ranging from 0.8m to 1m. The profile was V-shaped and the ditch was deep, up to 1.2m. It narrowed to 1.25m at its north-western corner just as it turned southwards. At this point the feature suddenly became shallower (0.35m in depth) and flat-based, with a U-shaped profile that was evident throughout the rest of the western portion of the ditch. The width of the ditch in this western section also decreased (1.9m). This may have been due to the fact that the eastern edge of the ditch was now cutting through bedrock. The bedrock continued in a southern direction, with the cut for the ditch suddenly ending at the probable entrance to the enclosure.

The south-western section of the ditch was extremely disturbed. It had been cut by a linear feature and a pit and was partially destroyed by quarrying, which may have been related to the construction of the existing road. The western edge of this section of the ditch in the south appeared to be the only true remaining edge. The original slope of the ditch was steep (break of slope at 1m), giving the ditch a V-shaped profile, much the same as that of its northern extent. This section of the ditch probably originally measured 2.4m and its depth was 0.77m. A whetstone was the only find recovered from the ditch fill, which contained a large amount of animal bone. A radiocarbon date indicated that the ditch was backfilled sometime between AD 640 and 900. The various features within the interior of the enclosure, including a linear trench, post-holes and pits, were probably all associated with the ditch and were therefore Early Christian in date. To the north of this ditch a number of east–west-running ditches were excavated. Two of these were post-medieval in date and the third was possibly prehistoric. A smoothed stone disc was recovered from the latter.

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