County: Limerick Site name: BALLYSIMON
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0030
Author: Tracy Collins, Ægis Archaeology Ltd.
Site type: Burial and Burnt pit
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 561958m, N 655444m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.648861, -8.562175
The leg bones of a skeleton were revealed during monitoring of the destruction of a badger sett by the Wildlife Section of Dúchas. This monitoring was undertaken as part of the construction of the Limerick Southern Ring-Road. Upper leg bones were first recovered, and two kneecaps. It was thought that the remainder of the skeleton would be present, but upon excavation it was found that only the upper portions of the lower legs were left in situ. It was clear from the remains that they had been cut in antiquity and post-mortem. The bones recovered represented an adult individual of undetermined sex. The remains were found only c. 0.15m below the surface ground level of the badger sett. They were covered with a light mid-brown silty loam topsoil and were cut into and resting upon a very similar material. It appeared from the excavation that the remains had been surrounded by a crude stone setting of twelve stones. Despite the fact that it appeared as though the leg bones had been cut in antiquity and the lower legs and both feet were missing, the stone setting had not been truncated, which was thought to be unusual.
Two isolated features located in the same field as the human remains were excavated under the same licence. Both features were circular in plan and showed evidence for heating or burning within them. They were partly filled with heat-reddened subsoil and both had tentative evidence for flues. No finds were recovered from the features.
16 Avondale Court, Corbally, Limerick
