2001:802 - SINGLAND, Limerick

A number of small pits were noted during monitoring of the realignment of the N7 from the Parkway roundabout to Plassey Park Road on the eastern outskirts of Limerick City. Following monitoring and initial investigation by Celie O Rahilly (Excavations 2001, No. 801), the writer was contracted to undertake an excavation of several of the features.

Two of the pits were located near the centre of the road. The first was oval in plan and measured 0.69m north–south by 0.4m by 0.22m in depth. There were no finds in the charcoal-rich fill and the base was heat-reddened, indicating an in situ burning activity. This pit was disturbed by a later circular pit, which measured 0.44m in diameter and 0.22m in depth. The fill of this pit contained occasional flecks of charcoal and a small sherd of prehistoric pottery, tentatively identified as dating from the Neolithic period. Another pit was uncovered 5m to the north-west. This measured 0.98m east–west by 0.7m by 0.25m in depth. The eastern side had been oxidised and the fill contained frequent amounts of charcoal, which indicated that this pit was also used in a burning activity. A small burnt spread 10m to the north-east was found to be modern in date.

The function of these pits was unclear. The burning may suggest a domestic cooking activity but there was no habitation evidence in the stripped areas surrounding the pits. They may also have had some ritual function, such as burial or votive offerings. However, there were no traces of cremated bone in any of the pits and only one contained a possible sherd of pottery. The interpretation of this site was hampered by the fact that it had been extensively disturbed in recent centuries by a field boundary bank and ditch, tree root activity and cultivation furrows.

16 Avondale Court, Corbally, Limerick