County: Clare Site name: AREA 3, LATOON SOUTH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0332
Author: Billy Quinn, Archaeological Services Unit Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 536929m, N 671072m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.786980, -8.935017
In the summer of 1998 an archaeological investigation was carried out in the townland of Latoon South, Co. Clare, as part of the proposed N18/19 Ballycasey-Dromoland Bypass Road Improvements Scheme. This followed an Environmental Impact Survey carried out by Celie O Rahilly and subsequent site assessments by Christine Grant, undertaken in 1998. It was established that Area 3 contained a standing stone consisting of an irregular lump of rough limestone. A geophysical survey of the immediate vicinity revealed a potential soil-filled feature, subcircular in plan with three radiating 'spokes'. The intrusive investigation sought to resolve this anomaly. No testing took place around the standing stone.
A trench was excavated to a depth of 0.95m. It lay c. 20m south-east of the standing stone and measured 10m x 1m. During the investigation a 1m2 extension was dug 3m from the eastern end of the trench on the northern side. It was orientated in a general east-west direction. The purpose of the trench was to investigate a possible ditch feature detected during the geophysical survey of the area. The topsoil layer, of a mid-brown, loosely compacted silt with a maximum depth of 80mm, overlay a mid-grey, sandy layer. Below this and confined to the eastern end of the trench was a mid-orange/brown silt with occasional small stones. It was mildly compacted with a maximum depth of 0.25m. Underlying this was a layer quite similar to the last in colour and compaction but with a higher clay content. This ran the full length of the trench and had an average thickness of 0.25m. Below was a grey, sandy clay, quite compacted and very uneven, which was again confined to the eastern end of the trench and was associated with a number of large limestone boulders. The extension was opened to further investigate this layer, which proved to be natural material. An undisturbed, pink, sandy layer lay under this, c. 0.5m below ground level.
This testing produced no archaeological features or deposits. All the layers excavated were sterile and featureless.
Purcell House, Oranmore, Co. Galway
