County: Limerick Site name: BALLYCUMMIN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 96E379-AR 14
Author: Cia McConway, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 554460m, N 652144m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.618631, -8.672523
As part of the Adare-Annacotty Road Improvement Scheme the south-west corner of a field was tested owing to its proximity to a well-preserved rath to its immediate west. A geological survey was carried out in the corner of the field and several anomalies were revealed. Test-trenching concentrated on trying to resolve some of these anomalies.
A linear feature, either a stone drain or an old field boundary, running roughly east-west across the field, was picked up during the survey. Trenching showed this to be a fairly shallow stony feature, extending to almost 1.5m in width within a dark crumbly soil. There was no sign of an associated bank although the field has been intensively worked until relatively modern times, which could easily have removed any upstanding features.
Closer to the rath another trench was opened, revealing subsoil under a fairly substantial depth of almost sterile ploughsoil. However, in the very south-west corner of this trench a large pit was clipped-roughly in quarter-section. As excavated, it measured almost 1m wide and ran into both the western and southern baulks of the trench. It was cutfrom subsoil level and had a depth of 0.63m. It was almost vertical with a wide, flat base. A thick (0.14m) clay lining along its side consisted of a very plastic, stone-free, yellow-pink clay with occasional charcoal lumps throughout. The base of the pit may also have been clay-lined, but it was not possible to investigate this further in the rather confined space available.
The upper fill of the pit consisted of a compact, dry grey/brown soil occasionally flecked with small fragments of cremated bone-though at this time it is not certain that the bone was human. Some small fragments of unburned red clay were also retrieved from the upper fill. The fill changed with depth, becoming more clayey and plastic. Some cremated bone and charcoal flecked this clay. Several pieces of metal slag, one piece showing evidence of having been recut, were found between the pit wall and clay lining in a small hollow towards the base of the pit.
While no datable artefacts were found, the nature of the pit and fill strongly indicates that it was associated with cremation activity.
A 5m-long trench was opened up, running roughly east-west, close to the rath. This area had been badly trampled by cattle and only a very thin covering of topsoil overlay the natural subsoil. To the very west of the trench, two probable badly truncated postholes were uncovered. Just east of these postholes a substantial ditch, 1.4m wide and 0.7m deep, was excavated. The ditch was V-shaped and filled primarily with a gravelly orange/brown clay. Concentrated within the upper half of the fill were numerous stones of various sizes. It was not possible to ascertain whether these stones had been deliberately pushed into the ditch, perhaps as the remains of a bank, as the two section faces revealed were fairly different. However, it was noted that the ditch was entirely free of red brick and pottery. Only a few snail shells were recovered.
As excavated, the ditch was running in a north-easterly/south-westerly fashion, though it is not clear whether it is linear or curvilinear in nature. However, its proximity to the rath cannot be dismissed and it is possible that this ditch formed part of the outer earthworks of the rath.
Power House, Pigeon House Harbour, Dublin 4
