2003:1903 - KNOCKHOUSE LOWER (2), Waterford

An excavation was carried out in April 2003 at Knockhouse Lower 2, Knockhouse Lower, 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 was originally identified between 26 February and 11 March 2002 following an assessment carried out during the initial assessment phase of works by Tara O'Neill (Excavations 2002, No. 1798, 02E0249). The assessment involved machine-assisted trial-trenching along the centre-line of the road with offsets at 45º angles at intervals of 30m on alternate sides. This site was assessed as part of Site B, which consisted of six fields and was originally identified as Areas 4–5 within Site B, and was located along the Western Link Road from the N25 bypass. Site B was identified subsequent to the EIS as an area of high archaeological potential after a critical examination of the topographical nature of the scheme.

Two areas were stripped at Knockhouse Lower 2. An area which measured 20m2 was stripped around Area 1 and an area which measured 20m2 was stripped around Area 2. The majority of features exposed consisted of field drains and cultivation furrows. The presence of so many field drains is not surprising, as the field was prone to flooding at the time of excavation. Two small spreads were exposed. The archaeological significance of these features is negligible, due to the disturbance caused by field drains within this site and the lack of associated features and finds. Finds recovered consisted of modern delft and a utility pipe.

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