County: Laois Site name: SHANBOE/TOWNPARKS
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A015/041
Author: Linda Clarke, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd, Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth.
Site type: Prehistoric burnt-stone spreads, bowl furnace, pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 623935m, N 687845m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.940879, -7.643905
An assessment was carried out in advance of the planned M7/M8 Portlaoise–Castletown/Portlaoise
–Cullahill motorway scheme (Contract 2). The assessment of Contract 2, Testing Area 14, involved the mechanical excavation of 238 test-trenches. These had a combined length of 7866.7m, resulting in a total excavated area of 15,733.4m2, or c. 10% of the total area (160,677m2). The testing area is situated in the townlands of Shanboe and Townparks along the proposed Borris-in-Ossory link road (Chainage 0–1950).
Six sites were identified. These have been designated Shanboe 1–6. Shanboe 1 consisted of the ploughed-out and truncated remains of a burnt-stone spread, which measured 24m by 12m and had an average depth of 0.3m. Shanboe 2 was spread over three fields and consisted of the truncated remains of a burnt-stone spread that measured 2.6m by 1.47m, a spread flecked with charcoal that measured 1.8m by 0.89m and two pit features. The largest of these measured 3m by 2.25m and reached an average depth of 0.25m and the smallest measured 0.6m in diameter and reached an average depth of 0.15m. Shanboe 3 consisted of a small pit flecked with charcoal and a possible bowl furnace pit. Shanboe 4 consisted of the truncated remains of two burnt-stone spreads, which measured 4.5m by 3.5m and 4.75m by 1.5m. Shanboe 5 also consisted of the remains of a burnt-stone spread that measured 15m by 14m and reached a depth of 0.4m. Two associated pits were also identified. The final site identified, Shanboe 6, consisted of a bowl furnace. It is likely that all of the burnt-stone spreads identified represent the remains of fulachta fiadh.
