County: Tipperary Site name: WINDMILL (Site 36B.2)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E0676
Author: John Kavanagh, for Judith Carroll Network Archaeology
Site type: Field system and Cremation pit
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 606958m, N 639185m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.504014, -7.897500
Site 36B.2 was excavated in advance of construction of the N8 Cashel Bypass and N74 Link Road. South Tipperary County Council proposes to construct a new bypass of Cashel town. The scheme involves a 6km bypass route of the town and a 2km link road of the N74. The excavation commenced in July 2003 for a period of six weeks. The site was located at the base of a low hill.
The excavation uncovered the remains of ten pits located throughout the site. Three were oblong in shape and measured 1.7m by 0.85m, 1.95m by 0.95m and 2.4m by 6.3m. The pits were up to 1.05m deep. They were filled with sands and clays. Five were circular in shape, ranging in size from 0.35-0.95m in diameter with depths of 0.12–0.4m. These pits were filled with charcoal-rich sands and silts. The last two pits were more interesting. The first was circular in shape with a tapered profile, 1.4m by 1.35m and 0.7m deep. The second was oval with a U-shaped profile, 1m by 1.3m and 0.28m deep. The base of both pits contained a crushed pottery vessel, charcoal and burnt bone. A preliminary examination of the pottery sherds suggested that these were Bronze Age cremation pits. The remaining features on the site consisted of disused field boundaries, drains and plough furrows.
Sweep Road, Rathmore, Portarlington, Co. Laois
