2005:889 - KILLEANY/CLONRUD/CLONCOUGH, Laois

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 on behalf of Laois County Council and the National Roads Authority. The section of the project described here is Testing Area 11 of Contract 3. Contract 3 consists of c. 15km of motorway which extends north–south from the termination of the Portlaoise bypass to Aghaboe through the townlands from Clonboyne to Gortnaclea. This section contains the Toll Plaza in the townland of Clonadacasey, a grade separated junction at the tie-in with the existing M7 Portlaoise bypass and a bridge crossing the River Nore in the townland of Cloncough and associated ancillary works. Testing Area 11 was located in the townlands of Killeany, Clonrud and Cloncough (Chainage 23230–24650). A mechanical excavator with a 2.15m-wide grading bucket was used to excavate the centre-line and offset trenches. Offset trenches were excavated at 20m intervals (i.e. at 10m intervals on alternate sides of the centre-line trench). However, a considerable section of Testing Area 11, comprising the northern limit of Field 236, all of Field 237 and the southern half of Field 238, is designated a special area of conservation (SAC). Within the SAC zone, offset trenches were excavated at 15m intervals (i.e. at 7.5m intervals on alternate sides of the centre-line trench). One archaeological site was identified in the area.
Clonrud 3 consists of two spreads of charcoal-enriched clay and fragments of burnt stone, located in Field 238 (Plot 206), at Chainage 24600. The western spread measured an excavated 2.9m (north–south) by 3m and c. 0.05m deep. Spread F10 was located 5.1m further east and measured an excavated 2.8m (north–south) by 4.5m and c. 0.22m deep. The material almost certainly represents the levelled remains of a prehistoric cooking site, or fulacht fiadh.