2003:0105 - N18 ENNIS BYPASS (Northern section), Clare

The proposed route of the northern section of the N18 Ennis Bypass from Cragard to Kilbreckan was tested. A single trench along the centre-line of the proposed road was supplemented by offsets at 12.5m intervals. Along the 8km route, a total of c. 29km of trenches was opened. The route passed near to 21 sites recorded on the RMP.

The general nature of the landscape crossed by the proposed road is variable. Lowland glacial features in the form of small hummocks and ridges, as well as resistant bands of limestone, provide topographical relief, but in general it is low-lying, undulating countryside. Much of the pastureland has been reclaimed from hazel scrub in the last hundred years and patches of scrub growing directly from karst limestone still occur. Marshy areas in the lower-lying land could not be tested by machine and some areas adjacent to known archaeological sites were tested under a different contract.

A total of six sites were considered to be of potential archaeological interest. Two oval pits with evidence of in situ burning were recorded in the townland of Barefield. In the townland of Ballymacahill, a burnt spread was uncovered on the southern edge of a marshy area, potentially part of a fulacht fiadh. A well-preserved Bronze Age palstave was found in topsoil in a field 0.7km north of this. Also in this townland an oval pit filled by a dark charcoal-rich matrix was cut into the iron-red subsoil prevalent in this area. In the townland of Ballaghboy, two round pits filled with a dark charcoal-rich silt were uncovered. A single piece of green glazed pottery was recovered from one and a thin S-shaped ditch lay slightly to the south filled by similar material. In the townland of Kilbreckan an oval pit 1.95m long and 1m wide contained several fills including layers of charcoal. A slot excavated across the feature revealed fire-reddened clay at the base.

Corporate House, Ballybrit Business Park, Galway