County: Tipperary Site name: BALLINTOTTY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0476
Author: Richard N. O'Brien, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Fulacht fia
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
ITM: E 591052m, N 678538m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.857692, -8.132859
The site, investigated as part of the Nenagh Bypass, lay in Ballintotty townland, c. 4 miles east of Nenagh town, Co. Tipperary. AR 30 (an Anglo-Norman hall-house, Excavations 1997, 159) is situated to the west; Ballintotty Castle is to the south; and the Ballintotty River runs to the south and south-east of the site. The site consisted of a roughly circular/ovoid burnt stone mound, with adjacent spreads of burnt stone. The main mound measured c. 18m x 13m, and was c. 0.3–0.5m high.
Approximately 5m east of the main mound a marl embankment measured 31m x 17m. Peat and burnt stones were observed under portions of this marl bank. The embankment was orientated roughly south-south-east/west-north-west and may have been a natural build-up. Immediately south of this embankment more burnt stones were evident extending for c. 40–50m east-west by 14m. This area was extensively covered with peat sod, small bushes and reeds.
Approximately 10m north of the main mound was a burnt stone spread, which was excavated on 2–3 September 1998. This spread measured 12m x 8m and was 0.2m high. There were two fills: a 0.04–0.1m layer of peat overlain by a 0.04-0.1m layer of burnt stones. The site had been truncated by a number of narrow, modern field drains. There were no finds from this site, and no features were uncovered beneath the peat.
Neither the main burnt mound nor the mound material south of the marl embankment could be excavated further owing to safety concerns about serious flooding from the Ballintotty River.
Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Fairview, Dublin 3
