County: Kerry Site name: MOUNTHAWK 2, Tralee
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 97E0212 ext.
Author: Laurence Dunne, Eachtra Archaeological Projects
Site type: Cultivation ridges
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 485883m, N 612337m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.250909, -9.671328
Ground disturbance works were monitored in 1997 (Excavations 1997, 88) in the townland of Mounthawk, within the area of the Old Tralee Golf Club, in compliance with a planning condition of the proposed housing development. No extant archaeological sites lie within the development site; however, a complex of Late Bronze Age sites was excavated in the adjoining field (Excavations 1997, 87-8, 96E0390). During the course of last season's monitoring of the excavation of the site roadways a small number of possible archaeological features were recorded and excavated, but no datable material was recovered.
The second phase of the development took place in July 1998. Testing on the footprint of the foundations of each of the house sites was undertaken, the angle and orientation of each of the test-trenches being as varied as possible. Each of the test-trenches was on average 12m x 10m x 2.5m wide. The topsoil was stripped by track machine using a flat bucket. Differences in the soil stratigraphy were noted in nine of the trenches. Each of these was trowelled and recorded. A series of cultivation furrows, averaging 0.6–0.8m wide and orientated north-east/south-west, was recorded in Trenches 1, 2, 4 and 6–9. A field boundary marked on the 1st edition OS map was recorded in Trenches 1, 5 and 6. A drain was recorded in Trench 3. No other archaeological stratigraphy, features or artefacts were recorded.
43 Ard Carraig, Tralee, Co. Kerry
