County: Laois Site name: CUFFSBOROUGH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A015/14
Author: Eamonn Cotter, for Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd, Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth.
Site type: Fulachta fiadh, prehistoric enclosure, prehistoric house, bowl furnaces
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 634243m, N 683085m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.897541, -7.491062
An assessment was carried out in advance of the proposed M7 Portlaoise–Castletown/M8 Portlaoise–
Cullahill motorway scheme between February and June 2005. The work was carried out in March 2005 on behalf of Laois County Council and the National Roads Authority. The section described in this report is Testing Area 2 of Contract 1. Contract 1 of the project incorporated the Portlaoise–Cullahill section of the scheme, consisting of c. 14km of motorway, which extends from Aghaboe to south of Cullahill through the townlands from Gortnaclea to Oldtown. Testing Area 2 was located in the townland of Cuffsborough between the public road leading south-westwards from Cuffsborough crossroads and the public road R434 leading north-westwards from Cuffsborough crossroads, between Chainage 20700 and 21620 of the proposed scheme. The work was carried out in March 2005 on behalf of Laois County Council and the National Roads Authority. The assessment methodology generally consisted of mechanically excavating a 2.15m-wide test-trench along the centre-line, with perpendicular offset trenches extending to the edge of the land-take. Four archaeological sites were identified in the area.
Cuffsborough 1 was a fulacht fiadh located at the southern end of Field 156, at Chainage 21,200. It comprised two spreads of burnt stone and a pit, probably a trough, filled with similar material. The trough measured 3.2m by 3m, one of the spreads measured 4m by 5m by c. 0.4m deep and the other measured 8m by 4m by c. 0.4m deep (see No. 875 below).
Cuffsborough 2 was located at the northern end of Field 156, at Chainage 21,500, and comprised three pits. One of the pits measured 1.4m by 1.1m by 0.18m deep. Its fill was a black silty clay with some burnt stone. The second pit measured 1.2m by 1.1m by 0.44m deep and was filled with burnt stone. The third measured 1.3m by 1.1m by 0.33m deep and was also filled with burnt stone. The fills of these pits resemble that of a fulacht fiadh (see No. 876 below).
Cuffsborough 3 was located in Field 153, at Chainage 21,000. Eight features were recorded in this field, including two spreads of burnt stone in close proximity to each other and a cluster of six pits located c. 30m to the south of the spreads. One of the spreads measured 5.25m by 8.25m by 0.2m deep, and the other measured 11.75m by 8.25m by c. 0.3m deep. The pits ranged from 1.1 to 1.9m in diameter and from 0.15 to 0.56m in depth. These features were interpreted as a fulacht fiadh.
Cuffsborough 4 was located in Field 149, at Chainage 20,800. Four features were recorded in this field, comprising one circular enclosure or ring-ditch, one circular house and two bowl furnaces (see No. 877 below).
The enclosure measured 16.5m by 17.5m and its enclosing ditch had a maximum width of 1.4m and a maximum depth of 0.75m. One feature located centrally within the enclosure may have been a pit. It was circular in plan and measured 1.1m in diameter. Its depth was not investigated. It may contain a burial.
The house was located c. 30m to the north-east of the enclosure. It comprised thirteen post-holes arranged in a circle, measuring 8m by 7.5m. The interior was not stripped of topsoil.
The bowl furnaces were located close together c. 30m north of the house. Both were circular in plan and measured 0.55m in diameter.
