County: Waterford Site name: KNOCKANAGH (1)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E0412
Author: Linda Clarke, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 652239m, N 609650m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.236110, -7.235176
An assessment was carried out between 27 and 31 April 2003 at Knockanagh 1, Knockanagh, Co. Waterford, on behalf of Waterford City Council in advance of the construction of the new N25 Waterford Bypass. The project was funded by the Irish government and part funded by the European Union under the National Development Plan 2000–2006 and was administered through Waterford City Council.
This site incorporated two areas: Area 1 consisted of a possible enclosure (possibly a tree ring and formerly designated Site A) that was initially listed as an enclosure site in the SMR for County Waterford (16:11), and Area 2, an area that was geophysically surveyed south of Area 1 and was formerly identified as part of Site 3. A field survey carried out by Michael Moore on 27 April 1989 as part of the Archaeological Survey of Ireland failed to identify any trace of an antiquity on this site. As a result, the site was not entered into the RMP nor was it included in the Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford. The site is clearly visible as a wooded circular enclosure on the 1840–1 OS map but is not obvious on the 1926 map, as it forms part of a larger wooded area. As the site lies within the Mount Congreve Demesne, it is likely that this was a tree ring or similar landscape feature. The nearby Area 2, identified as part of Site 3, was identified as a result of a geophysical survey carried out by Heather Gimson under licence number 02R037. A possible enclosure was identified within this area.
In Area 1, formerly identified as a possible enclosure (Site A), three trenches were excavated. Topsoil was removed directly onto the stony natural subsoil. No features were exposed and no finds recovered. A further five trenches were excavated within the area where a possible enclosure was identified as a result of the geophysical survey. No features of archaeological significance were exposed or finds recovered. Bands of shale were visible throughout each trench and it would appear that it was these that were picked up as a result of the geophysical survey.
The remainder of this field was also subjected to intensive testing as part of the general testing that was carried out throughout the remainder of Site 3 by Ian Russell (No. 1851, Excavations 2003, 02E0275). No features of archaeological significance were recovered.
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