2001:799 - ROBERTSTOWN, Limerick

Test excavations at Robertstown, Foynes, Co. Limerick, were carried out as part of a pre-planning archaeological assessment. The landowner is of the opinion that a mapping error had occurred with regard to recorded enclosure site RMP 10:68 and that the enclosure in question was actually situated one field further to the east. The purpose of the test excavations was to determine the nature and extent of the possible enclosure and to establish whether any archaeological deposits were present. Should the test excavations prove negative it was the intention of the developer to include the report as a component of a planning application to construct a dwelling-house.

Two trenches were stripped of topsoil by a mechanical excavator and then cleaned down by hand. Both trenches ran from the interior of the possible enclosure out over a low irregular ridge. Nothing of archaeological significance was recorded from either of the two test-trenches. The test excavations show no indication of any archaeological features within or adjacent to the recorded enclosure. However, the enclosure is clearly marked as an upstanding monument on both editions of the OS six-inch maps.

The landowner identified a number of coherent enclosure sites in the adjacent field some 150m east of SMR 10:68. These features are clearly visible on an aerial photograph obtained for the assessment. A preliminary EDM survey was conducted on the previously unrecorded enclosures. This indicates that at least three conjoined enclosures are present. The enclosures have a relict profile but are easily visible above the ground and were probably even more difficult to overlook in the 19th century when the OS six-inch map surveys were carried out.

3 Canal Place, Tralee, Co. Kerry