County: Limerick Site name: SPITTLE (BGE)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Eoin Grogan
Site type: Pit
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
ITM: E 578055m, N 625050m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.376572, -8.322303
These were three pits, not identified after removal of topsoil, later cut by the pipe trench. Pits 1 and 2 lay within 4m of each other.
Pit 1 lay on the right-hand side of the trench, which was 2m wide. It had a maximum surviving width of 1.25m and was 75cm deep. The base had been fire-reddened to a depth of 3cm indicating intense in situ burning. Three struck, but not retouched, flint flakes were recovered from the fill.
Pit 2 lay on the left-hand side of the trench. It had a maximum width of 50cm and was 35cm deep, containing a charcoal-flecked fill with burnt stone. The condition of the trench prevented detailed investigation.
Pit 3 was situated over 100m from pits 1 and 2. The surviving section, 1.3m x 1.1m, was 13cm deep and had been truncated. The charcoal-rich fill contained cremated bone; fragments of two coarse pots, one body sherd and the remains of a relatively complete pot were recovered along with forty-six fragments of struck flint. None of the flint was retouched.
The sites listed from this 400m stretch of pipeline corridor in the townland of Duntryleague all occur in an area which was poorly covered by the aerial survey of the route, used during pre-construction archaeological survey. The route lies at the extreme edge of the photographs or off them altogether. There were no identifiable surface remains.
5 St Catherine's Rd, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
