County: Clare Site name: BALLYCASEY TO DROMOLAND ROAD IMPROVEMENT SCHEME N18/19 (Contract 1)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 99E0350
Author: Christine Tarbett-Buckley and Graham Hull for Valerie J. Keeley Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 542183m, N 672515m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.800533, -8.857393
A c. 6km-long and 60m-wide easement for a new road was stripped and monitored. The route of the new road runs along the eastern edge of the Shannon and Fergus estuaries to the west of Newmarket-on-Fergus. The total area examined was 33.55ha and included Recorded Monuments and sites identified by pre-construction assessment. Christine Grant previously held the licence, and preliminary findings were reported in Excavations 1999, 9. Substantial new sites were located as a result of this monitoring, and the largest of these were excavated under separate licence. These were:
Ballyconneely/Ballygirreen (AR47/51), 00E0284, a ringfort and two corn-drying kilns excavated by Thaddeus Breen (see Excavations 2000, No. 47).
Ballyconneely (AR48/50), 00E0284, pits and inhumation burial associated with ringfort and 19th-century cottier activity excavated by Thaddeus Breen (see Excavations 2000, No. 46).
Ballygirreen (AR49), 00E0284, later prehistoric ring-ditch with cremation burials excavated by Thaddeus Breen (see Excavations 2000, No. 45).
Ballyconneely (AR52), 00E0073, 00E0284, waterlogged environment excavated by Thaddeus Breen (see Excavations 2000, No. 48).
Knocksaggart (AR85/86), 00E0416, prehistoric occupation and funerary? excavated by Ken Hanley (see Excavations 2000, No. 94).
Further sites were fully resolved under licence 99E0350. These were:
Ballyconneely (AR4a), 137837 170173, pits and two inhumation burials, probably dating to the Famine period.
Latoon South (AR46), 137870 171100, prehistoric pits complex.
Ballyconneely (AR53), 137885 170083, shallow pits associated with burning.
Ballyconneely (AR61/63), 137920 170028, probable prehistoric hearths.
Ballyconneely (AR62), 137864 169984, spreads of burnt material.
Latoon North (AR66), 138020 171180, pit.
Ballyconneely (AR67), 137999 169811, post-hole and pit.
Ballyconneely (AR69), 137927 170100, three probable pits.
Ballyconneely (AR70), 137972 169881, post-hole and hearth.
Ballyconneely (AR71), 137939 169880, pit, charcoal deposit and linear cut.
Ballyconneely (AR72), 137989 169787, silty deposit.
Ballyconneely (AR73), 137947 169914, charcoal deposit.
Latoon South (AR74), 137919 170966, post-hole.
Latoon South (AR76), 137912 170816, prehistoric cremation pit.
Latoon South (AR77), 137898 170715, two probable prehistoric pits.
Latoon South (AR78), 137885 170577, probable prehistoric linear feature.
Latoon South (AR79), 137878 170500, two pits.
Knocksaggart (AR82), 139219 167100, post-hole.
Knocksaggart (AR83), 139205 167098, post-hole.
Knocksaggart (AR 87), 139241 166966, pit and post-hole.
Knocksaggart (AR88), 139259 166960, two post-holes.
Knocksaggart (AR89), 139347 166921, two post-holes.
Knocksaggart (AR95), 139382 166632, small pit cremation cemetery? Bronze Age.
Brehon House, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny
