2003:0093 - CLAREABBEY (Site AR36/P7), Clare

The N18 Ennis Bypass would involve the construction of a 13.8km eastern bypass of Ennis from Latoon, outside Newmarket, to north of Barefield, at Cragard, along with a 7.1km western relief road from Killow to Claureen, outside Ennis.

Site AR36/P7 was considered to be a zone of high archaeological potential, due to the close proximity of Clareabbey. Clareabbey was established c. 1189 by the Augustinians under the patronage of Donal Mor O’Brian, King of Thomond. It is situated beside the River Fergus. The visible remains of the abbey date to the 15th century. Clareabbey was the principal Augustinian foundation in this region up to the time of the Reformation. A battle was fought in 1278 between rival elements of the O’Brian clan in the vicinity of Clareabbey. The exact location of this battlefield is unknown. The presence of a battlefield as well as possible medieval remains suggested that an intensive testing strategy was required in this area.

Nine test-trenches totalling 592m2 were mechanically excavated across the area of AR36/P7. Testing revealed the presence of two fulachta fiadh and an irregular spread of burnt stone in AR36i. No other archaeological features or portable artefacts were recorded.

Trench AR36i was excavated in three separate sections, due to the presence of a water channel and waterlogged conditions. The west section, 15m in length, had topsoil, which varied in depth from 0.42m at the west end to 0.7m at the east end, of a friable dark-brown clay with frequent root inclusions. It sealed natural, a light- to mid-brown sandy clay with occasional small stones. No archaeological features or finds were recovered from this part of the trench.

The middle section of AR36i, 8.5m in length, was located 7m east of the western part, due to the presence of a large field drain. It was excavated for a length of 2m east of the field drain when an area of in situ burning was detected, along with a spread of burnt stone. The burning measured 1m east–west by 0.5m (maximum) and was located 0.68m north of the southern edge of the trench. A wider area was excavated to help define the extent of these deposits. An area measuring 6.2m north–south by 5.2m was opened. This revealed a second area of in situ burning, in the north–west corner of the trench, measuring 0.85m east–west by 0.6m, and 4m north-west of the original area of burning. The burning extended beyond the area of excavation in a western direction but it was not possible to extend the trench due to a large field drain located 0.7m to the west. The area was cleaned and revealed an irregular spread of burnt stone measuring 5.5m north–south (maximum) by 3m (maximum). By completion of cleaning and planning the area was inundated with water, which seeped up from the ground surface. As a result it was not possible to carry out any hand testing of the features. Hand cleaning of the area, however, suggests that the spread of burnt stone is shallow, approximately 0.2–0.3m deep, and appears to be no more than one layer of stone sitting directly on natural.

These features are interpreted as two small fulachta fiadh, located in an area of mid-grey alluvial clay. The burnt stones were, on average, 0.05–0.1m in length but did not appear to be burnt in situ, as a number of large natural (in situ) stones were recorded in this precise area and these revealed no evidence of burning.

The eastern section of AR36i measured 15m in length and consisted of a friable dark-brown silty clay, maximum depth of 0.2m, sealing a compact mid-grey clay with frequent stone inclusions. No archaeological features or finds were recovered from this part of the trench.

This project was funded by Clare County Council.

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