County: Limerick Site name: ASHFORT
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 13:76 Licence number: 97E0285
Author: Audrey Gahan, ADS Ltd.
Site type: Ringfort -rath
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 554960m, N 651245m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.610586, -8.665019
An assessment was necessitated owing to the proposed construction of the N20/N21, Adare– Annacotty road scheme. The site is a ringfort or rath, which is shown on OS maps. On inspection, the site was extremely overgrown and consisted of an enclosure defined by a bank, which in places was in excess of 1m high. An area approximately 30m in diameter is enclosed.
Two trenches were manually excavated, the first through the bank and ditch (not visible in the present landscape) and the second in the interior.
Trench 1 measured 1m x 12.3m and was aligned roughly north–south. The bank (1.05m high and approximately 6m wide at its base) was found to consist of several layers of redeposited subsoil, most probably upcast from construction of the ditch.
The ditch, roughly U-shaped and measuring a maximum of 5.42m in width and almost 1m in depth, lay directly outside the bank. None of the fills were organic in nature and no silting was evident, suggesting the ditch may have been deliberately backfilled. Artefacts were recovered from the uppermost fill only and included a silver penny of Edward VI, datable to 1550–3.
The second trench, 1m x 10m, was excavated within the north-eastern quadrant of the enclosure. Prior to excavation the area had been heavily trampled by cattle. The trench was extended southwards for a further 5m, taking it closer to the central area of the enclosure. No evidence of archaeological activity was identified in this trench.
Approximately half of this site lies within the area of the proposed road scheme and further excavation will take place during the summer of 1998.
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