2008:775 - GLENBANE WEST, Limerick

An excavation was carried out in October 2008 on a development site in the Shannon Estuary, Co. Limerick. The site, Site 2, was one of three uncovered during monitoring of topsoil-stripping from August to December 2008. It consisted of two cremation pits; a sherd of prehistoric pottery was noted within one of the pits and lay 0.7km west of Site 1, the site of a palaeochannel and associated pits (see No. 774, Excavations 2008) and east of Site 3, five charcoal production pits (see No. 779, Excavations 2008, 08E0782).

The development site lies c. 17km west of Limerick city and spans the three townlands of Island Mac Téige, Aughinish West and Glenbane West. It comprises sixteen fields in total. The site is owned by Aughinish Alumina Ltd, who currently operate an aluminium plant to the north of the development site. An existing Bauxite Residual Deposit Area (BRDA) is used to store waste from the aluminium extraction process; proposed development plans propose the construction of a second BRDA within the footprint of the site.

Condition 11 of the An Bórd Pleanála grant of planning permission included a request for a geophysical survey (Harrison 2007) and monitoring of all groundworks. The survey uncovered a number of anomalies across the footprint and a subsequent test excavation was carried out (Excavations 2007, No. 1114, 07E0805). One fulacht fiadh was excavated in spring 2008, in tandem with further testing, monitoring of townland boundary removal and the recording of six sites of cultural heritage (see No. 778, Excavations 2008 , 07E0805 ext.) which had been noted in an earlier environmental impact assessment (Clancy and Deery 2004).

The development works proper commenced in August 2008 and all topsoil-stripping and soil movement was monitored. Three sites were uncovered. Site 2 was located in Glenbane West in the eastern edge of the development footprint. It was located at the base of limestone outcrop in glacial till. Two pits, F3 and F10, were excavated to reveal highly fired and processed cremated bone. A small sherd of prehistoric pottery, which is yet to be identified, was retrieved from the fill of F3. It is likely that the site was associated with Site 1 (see No. 774, Excavations 2008) to its east. Post-excavation is currently underway and the results of the radiocarbon dates and specialist analyses have yet to be concluded.

References
Clancy, P. and Deery, S. 2004 Environmental Impact Statement, Architecture, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Aughinish Alumina, Aughinish, Co. Limerick. Unpublished report, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Harrison, D. 2007 Geophysical Survey 07R0105 Aughinish Alumina, Aughinish, Co. Limerick. Unpublished report, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.