County: Laois Site name: DERRINSALLAGH 5
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A015/71
Author: Anne-Marie Lennon, for Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd, Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth.
Site type: Pits, post-holes and bowl furnaces
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 625297m, N 685996m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.924194, -7.623792
A linear feature and a small bowl furnace were identified during testing of the M7 Portlaoise–
Castletown/M8 Portlaoise–Cullahill motorway scheme, Contract 1, in Testing Area 13. In resolution an area 20m by 20m was topsoil-stripped, uncovering several small pits. The area was extended to identify the full extent of the site. In total twenty pits, ten post-holes, a bowl furnace and a shallow curvilinear feature were identified. Iron slag was found within the fills of several of the pits. The bowl furnaces had a ring of oxidised clay around the edge, indicating the degree to which the pit was subjected to heat. The post-holes were scattered across the site, not forming any discernible pattern. It is likely that the site represents an area associated with iron working. Post-excavation analysis on this site is ongoing.
