2004:1614 - LAWLESSTOWN, Tipperary

Monitoring was undertaken at Lawlesstown, Cashel Road, Clonmel, as part of granted planning permission to build an extension to a factory. A holy well survives within the factory grounds, although it is not near the extension. No archaeological remains were found in the course of monitoring. Within the area of the new carpark, features of interest were uncovered cutting into the soil. They were not excavated, however, as it was possible to protect them and preserve them in situ. They were clustered into a small area measuring 10m2.

These features all contained a similar fill of moderately compact, greyish-black silty clay with frequent flecks of charcoal and a moderate amount of heat-shattered limestone and sandstone. This type of fill is synonymous with fulachta fiadh, which suggests the existence of one of these monuments within the immediate vicinity of the groundworks. The morphology of the remaining features strongly suggests extensive damage by earlier agricultural practices, especially ploughing. None of these features was excavated, but they protected with heavy-duty terram and preserved in situ.

The presence of the fulacht-like material confirms human activity within this area in the distant past; it would be unusual for this monument to have occurred in isolation within the landscape. With easy access to the River Suir with its associated valley to the south, and situated on an east-west-aligned ridge with extensive views into the valleys to the southwest, this site initially appears to offer many of the attributes required for settlement. The negative aspect to the settlement theory is that the site is totally exposed to the prevailing winds from the south-west and it was noticeable that temperatures were far lower on the site compared to the more sheltered, slightly lower, part of the ridge c. 1km to the east.

17 Staunton Row, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary