2005:951 - ADARE: Adare Manor, Boulabally, Limerick

An archaeological investigation was carried out at Boulabally housing development, Boulabally, Adare, Co. Limerick, prior to the construction of 30 houses at the site. Monitoring of the removal of topsoil at the pre-construction phase commenced on 2 February 2005. Stripping of the c. 12-acre site revealed a small number of archaeological features, concentrated in two main areas (north-eastern and south-eastern) of the field.

In the north-eastern corner a large semicircular enclosure ditch formed the largest archaeological element of the investigation. The ditch measured 20m east–west by 30m internally, with a maximum depth of 1.76m. Within the area delimited by the ditch there were no indicators for habitation, although activity at the site is shown by a small pit that was utilised in the processing/manufacturing of metals. Several anomalous pit features and later field drains were also identified within the internal area. Human skeletal remains were recovered from the base of the ditch, placed with crossed hands, which indicates an Early Christian date for the body and feature.

In the south-eastern corner of the field were a cluster of small pits that contained probable human cremated bone. The quantity of bone recovered from each pit was small (almost token amounts), which is indicative of burial practices from the Bronze Age period.

In general, the area of the field had been under intensive agricultural activity for some time, save for the northernmost 50m, which remained relatively uncultivated. Hand-excavated field drains together with modern machine-cut examples were located across the site, demonstrating a continual process of land improvement. This was borne out by the large quantity of ploughmarks identified throughout the field.

Ard Solas, Lackan, Blessington, Co. Wicklow