2005:877 - CUFFSBOROUGH (4), Laois

Testing was carried out before the construction of the M7 Portlaoise–Castletown/M8 Portlaoise–Cullahill motorway scheme. In March 2005, during centre-line testing of Contract 1, Testing Area 2, carried out by Eamonn Cotter, an area of archaeological significance was identified in Field 149 (Plot 361) adjacent to a stream (see No. 874, Excavations 2005). The site was designated Cuffsborough 4 and was excavated between October 2005 and February 2006. An area measuring 80m by 50m was stripped of topsoil by mechanical excavator to a depth of c. 0.5m. Excavation of the site revealed the remains of a large pallisaded structure, an oval-shaped house/hut, two hut sites, two bowl furnaces, field boundary ditches and a post-medieval road surface.

The pallisaded structure was circular in shape, with an internal diameter of 16.4m, and was located to the south-west of the cutting. It comprised 23 post-holes interconnected by a slot-trench. The post-holes ranged from 0.6 to 1m in diameter and 0.8 to 1.2m in depth. The slot-trench ranged in depth from 0.2 to 0.4m. Packing stones that presumably held timbers in place were evident in both the slot-trench and the post-holes. The entrance was in the south-east and was 1m in width, with smaller post-holes, 0.25m in width, evident on either side. A post-hole 1.2m in diameter and 1.1m in depth was evident in the centre of the structure and was interpreted as a central roof support. An internal circular arrangement of sixteen post-holes located at a distance of 1.6m from the external post-holes offered further roof support. A hearth was almost centrally located within the structure and it was surrounded by 38 stake-holes that are the probable remains of a spit structure. The remains of internal slot-trenches suggest that the structure may have been subdivided into three rooms. A flint flake was recovered from the fill of one of the post-holes and an iron knife and sharpening stone were recovered from the topsoil above the structure.

To the north-east, an oval-shaped structure measuring 8.6m east–west by 7.4m was evident. It was constructed of fourteen post-holes with average diameters of 0.4m and depths of 0.2m. Some of the post-holes contained packing stones. There were no internal features or associated finds. Further north, a horseshoe-shaped structure measuring 3.4m east–west by 3.3m was evident. This structure was probably a hut and consisted of a slot-trench with ten post-holes in its base. A third structure located in close proximity was C-shaped and enclosed an area 6m north–south by 5m. It also consisted of a slot-trench with post-holes and stake-holes in its base.

Further activity was identified to the east of the site, where two bowl furnaces containing a large amount of iron slag were evident. These were subcircular in shape, with diameters of 0.4m and depths between 0.3 and 0.4m. Several fragments of Bronze Age pottery were also recovered from this site. Other features, including ditches proved, upon excavation, to be post-medieval in date. Settlement at this site has been tentatively dated to the Bronze Age until a programme of post-excavation analysis is undertaken later in the year.

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