County: Kildare Site name: BOSTON HILL, Drinnanstown South 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E0343
Author: Ros Ó Maoldúin, Valerie J. Keeley Ltd.
Site type: Pit
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 671435m, N 719579m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.221815, -6.930279
This project was to facilitate the expansion of a quarry. The excavation took place in July 2002. The site was identified during the monitoring of topsoil-stripping by Ruth Elliott in October 2001 (Excavations 2001, No. 638, 01E0916). It lay on the northern slope of Boston Hill in the townland of Drinnanstown South.
The site consisted of four pits. One was isolated, and the other three were near to one another. The isolated pit was over 30m from any other surviving archaeological feature. It contained four pieces of ferrous slag. Its cut was circular, 0.4m in diameter and 0.17m deep. Although it contained charcoal, there was no evidence of in situ burning. The three other pits (0.52 by 0.4m, 0.3m by 0.28m, 0.22m by 0.18m) lay adjacent to an area of scorched earth. They were all of similar depth (0.15–0.2m) and contained mid-brown, charcoal-rich, silty clays.
Brehon House, Kilkenny Road, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny
