County: Kilkenny Site name: BALLYLARKIN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 13:42 Licence number: 05E1139
Author: Cóilín Ó Drisceoil, Kilkenny Archaeology, Threecastles, Kilkenny.
Site type: Ringfort
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 637332m, N 663162m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.718275, -7.447425
An assessment of a proposed development site was requested by the client in advance of a planning application for a two-house development at Ballylarkin, Co. Kilkenny. The site is within an area rich in archaeological sites of Early Christian and medieval date and, in particular, within the area of constraint for an enclosure site which lies within the subject site. This is the levelled and grassed-over site of a ringfort that is marked on the first- and second-edition OS maps. The site was extant until the 1960s, when it was bulldozed during land ‘improvement’ works. A topographical survey of the area failed to find any surface trace of the monument. Testing, on the other hand, indicated that there are extensive remains of the former site surviving below present ground level: the infilled outer fosse, the levelled bank and an internal structure were identified during testing. Nothing of archaeological interest was noted outside the ditch of the ringfort. Arising from the testing results, it was recommended that, as a condition of planning, a buffer zone should be placed around the archaeological area. Monitoring of all groundworks was also recommended.
