County: Kilkenny Site name: GRANNY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0200
Author: Caitríona Gleeson, Headland Archaeology Ltd.
Site type: Road - road/trackway, Field boundary, Pit, Kiln - lime, Enclosure and Structure
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 656809m, N 615493m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.288169, -7.167307
Waterford City Council proposes to construct an 18km bypass around Waterford city, with associated link roads. The route forms part of the N25 and runs from Kilmeaden in Co. Waterford to Slieverue in Co. Kilkenny. Excavations at Sites 21–23 in the townland of Granny, Co. Kilkenny, were undertaken as part of pre-construction investigations of the N25 Waterford bypass. The sites are located on the proposed N24 link road. The work followed the identification of several possible archaeological features during Contract 2 archaeological testing by Catherine McLoughlin in 2003 (Excavations 2003, No. 1002, 03E0421).
Site 21
An area of 2033m2 was stripped of topsoil by machine and a number of features were exposed. The most substantial was a trackway, which traversed Site 21 on a north-west/south-east alignment. A number of fragments of 18th- and 19th-century pottery and clay-pipe fragments were recovered from the surface of the trackway. This path was probably used for moving cattle between fields and may also have comprised a route from the limestone quarry (north of Site 23) to the limekiln discovered in Site 22 (see below). A number of other features of probable post-medieval date were uncovered. These included a boundary ditch and a possible gully, both of which contained glass, iron nails, animal teeth and sherds of post-medieval pottery. Two large pits were excavated in the north-east of the site. One contained a number of small flint flakes and a sherd of Neolithic pottery.
Site 22
This was the largest of the three areas excavated, covering an area of 4391m2. This included an area stripped around a 19th-century limekiln, which uncovered while creating access, 30m south-west of the original area of Site 22. In addition, 116m of test-trenches were excavated south-west of Sites 21 and 22.
Excavation at Site 22 uncovered features dating to the post-medieval and the Neolithic periods. Parallel boundary ditches ran north-west/south-east across the site. Finds from these included post-medieval pottery and animal bone. A large pit containing post-medieval pottery, iron objects and animal bone was uncovered nearby.
A curvilinear ditch was excavated in the northwest of the site. Small residual flint flakes and sherds of post-medieval pottery were recovered from the fill.
Two opposing roughly semicircular features were excavated in the east of the site. A stone (possibly rhyolite) axehead was found in the northern one and a number of small post-holes were situated around their edges.
Other remains of possible Neolithic date comprised a number of discrete pits and small patches of burnt clay located predominantly in the northern third of the excavated area. Although no artefacts were recovered from these features, the homogenous nature of their fills along with their general characteristics suggested that they may have been contemporary with the earlier phase of occupation (Neolithic) identified at this site.
The most substantial features excavated at Site 22 consisted of four large pits. They were not diagnostic in shape and contained largely sterile silty fills. They are provisionally interpreted as natural features formed by the subsidence of soil into cracks in the bedrock, possibly initiated by blasting in the limestone quarry located directly north of Site 23. Similar features were noted at excavations undertaken as part of this project also located in Granny townland.
Site 23
An area of 2574m2 was stripped of topsoil and a number of features were exposed. The most substantial of these comprised two parallel ditches that traversed the site on a north-west/south-east alignment. These are interpreted as either flanking ditches around a trackway or boundary ditches on either side of a now levelled hedgerow. Finds from the ditches included post-medieval pottery, iron fragments and animal bone.
A number of discrete small pits were excavated. These contained no artefacts.
Environmental samples were taken from all features with a potentially pre-modern date. It is thought charcoal from these will be suitable for radiocarbon dating.
This work was undertaken under Contract 3 archaeological investigations. The project is funded by the Department of Transport under the National Development Plan 2000–2006. The total archaeological cost is administered by the National Roads Authority through Waterford City Council.
Unit 4b, Europa Enterprise Park, Midleton, Co. Cork
