1986:49 - ELTON (BGE), Limerick

During pre-construction survey, the well-known ring-barrow cemetery in this townland was avoided. However, due to the density of obvious archaeological features outside the pipeline route, it was decided to test the pipeline corridor in the area closest to the cemetery.

A total of 150m was tested in five 30m blocks. Topsoil was removed by mechanical means and the trenches opened were trowelled back. Truncated and consequently enigmatic archaeological features were revealed in two of the 30m blocks tested. These were an arc of stakeholes c. 9m in diameter with no surviving internal features; a group of pits and isolated stakeholes; and two series of agricultural ditches, one of which could be of prehistoric date. There were no surviving occupation deposits except in features cut into subsoil. The topsoil in the area had a noteworthy depth of 38-45cm, being up to 60cm deep in places.

Small sherds of pottery of Bronze Age date and several fragments of struck flint were recovered during the mechanical removal of topsoil.

Chert, quartz and flint fragments were recovered along with badly decayed animal bone in one of the pits excavated and a chert point, struck fragments of flint and a biconical red chert bead were recovered from the fill of several of the earlier series of ditches. Post-medieval material was recovered from the later series of ditches.

During construction, a number of other linear features were revealed which can be related to the ditches described above. Two pits, one containing burnt bone (not identifiable) and one containing two tiny fragments of pottery, were also revealed during removal of topsoil. Owing to the great depth of topsoil in the area it is quite possible that further prehistoric features, surviving only at subsoil level, may not have been revealed. If so these would not have been damaged during construction. No features were revealed in the trench line.

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