2002:0994 - DANGAN, Kilkenny

A test excavation was carried out at the site of a proposed development at Dangan, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, in June 2002 before an application for planning permission for a single dwelling-house with associated services. The proposed development site is within 200m of an enclosure site and the site of a dolmen. Neither site has any visible standing remains.

Geophysical prospection was carried out in October 2001 by GeoArc Ltd (licence 01R077) over a section of the field measuring 106m by 80m, which included the location of the enclosure site. Although a series of anomalies of potential archaeological origin was revealed, no features were noted that could be identified directly with the enclosure site.

On the basis of this survey, a location to the south-east of this survey area (and of the enclosure site) was proposed for the development, and a test excavation was carried out here. Three trenches were excavated. No evidence of the survival of archaeological material was identified.

A number of the anomalies identified by the geophysical survey appear to extend beyond the survey area in the direction of the area where the test-trenches were situated. No material was identified that could be related directly to any anomalies indicated by the survey. However, large erratic boulders and frequent outcropping bedrock appear to be a characteristic of the underlying natural geology in the area tested. If this is consistent across the field, it may have contributed to the anomalies identified by the geophysical survey.