County: Tipperary Site name: LAHESSERAGH (SITE D)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0475
Author: Richard N. O'Brien, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Burnt mound
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 585353m, N 677139m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.844988, -8.217415
The site lay in Lahesseragh townland, c. 2 miles south of Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, beside the Newport Road and adjacent to the newly constructed Newport Bridge.
The site consisted of an extensive burnt mound, c. 22m x 28m in diameter and a maximum of 0.9m deep, situated on low-lying ground. Two hand-excavated test-trenches were placed across the mound material. Portions of the site had been severely disturbed by modern activity, in the form of two concrete pump stations built on the mound, covering c. 6m east-west x 12m north-south. A number of field drains traversed the mound in places, and deep root disturbance was evident from a number of felled trees.
All burnt stone material was removed by machine using a grading bucket. Owing to the high level of disturbance from the pump stations, and from a safety point of view, most of the centre of the mound was not excavated. A number of isolated large stones were found at the mound edges at the north-west, north and north-east corners. These may have been placed deliberately to delimit the mound in the landscape. A fire spot/hearth was revealed at the south-east extremity of the mound spread, sealed by the burnt stones. This produced charcoal remains that may be able to date the site. There were no finds from the hearth or from the rest of the site.
Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Fairview, Dublin 3
