County: Clare Site name: KILBRECKAN (Site AR05)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E0854
Author: Dermot Nelis, IAC Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 536786m, N 675523m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.826962, -8.937996
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 AR05 was recorded in the environmental impact statement as being a potential early field system consisting of drystone field boundaries. A cairn was also recorded in this area.
The section of the north–south drystone wall where trench AR05ii was excavated was recorded in detail. The wall, which has been preserved in situ, was built directly on a thin covering of topsoil. The wall displays random coursing with the largest stones being at the bottom (0.48m wide on average; 0.39m wide at top). The largest stone was 0.54m by 0.42m while the smallest was 0.14m by 0.08m. All of the stones were limestone and were irregularly shaped. The 2m-wide recorded section contained 42 stones, and had an average height of approximately 1.15m (maximum 1.28m, minimum 1m).
The excavation of two test-trenches and a test-pit totalling 42m2 failed to produce any material of archaeological significance. In all trenches the topsoil directly sealed the natural subsoil.
This project was funded by Clare County Council.
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