County: Kerry Site name: BALLAHACOMMANE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: KE067-042, KE067-055 and KE067-092001 Licence number: 00E0016 ext.
Author: John O'Connor, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 502403m, N 590446m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.057373, -9.423190
Monitoring of Phase 8 of the groundworks at Ballahacommane, Killarney, Co. Kerry, was carried out on 6–11 May 2004. The site is located c. 7km south-east of Killarney town, just off the N72. The entire site consists of c. 100 acres of land, much of which is covered by a blanket bog. The development involves the phased clearance and excavation of a sand and gravel quarry.
The quarry is situated in the lowlands between the hill of Ballahacommane to the north and the River Flesk to the south. It is bounded to the east by a tributary of the River Flesk. The Macgillycuddy and Derrynasaggart mountain ranges dominate the site to the south. The stone cairns on the summits of the Paps of Anu are clearly visible from the site.
Although no archaeological features have been located on the site in the previous phases of archaeological monitoring, by Ruth Elliot, Damien Finn and the writer (Excavations 2000, No. 408; 2001, No. 540; 2002, Nos 765–6; 2003, No. 770), a number of Bronze Age sites are known in the immediate vicinity of the quarry, increasing the likelihood that some archaeological features remain.
Phase 8 of the development involved the continuation of a boundary bank along the southern limit of the site, the clearance of topsoil from of c. 0.7 acres of land in Area 2 to facilitate the expansion of the quarry for sand and gravel extraction and the construction of a boundary bank along c. 370m of the northern limit of Area 1.
Nothing of archaeological significance was uncovered as a result of this phase of the works.
