2005:1403 - CAHERABBEY UPPER/CAHERABBEY LOWER/KEDRAH/KILLEMLY/SUTTONRATH/BALLYLEGAN/BALLYDREHID, Tipperary

Testing was carried out along a 5.2km stretch of the proposed routes of the N8 Cashel–Mitchelstown road and the N24 connection road. A total of 11,141 linear metres of test-trenches (1.8–2m wide) were excavated and twenty sites of archaeological potential were identified. Further testing along the N8 route was carried out under separate licences (see Nos 1456, 1412 and 1404, Excavations 2005, 05E0876, 05E0877 and 05E0878). A small isolated pit and a small isolated patch of burnt clay (Sites 2 and 7) were fully resolved during testing.

Site 1, Kedrah
Habitation
206224 127065
This was a series of pits and post-holes within an area measuring 20m by 12m. The largest of the pits was 2.7m long, 0.9m wide and 0.16m deep. The other pits were 1.4–2.3m long, and 0.6m and 0.85m wide. The post-holes were 12m to the north of the pits and measured 0.5m by 0.4m and 0.15m by 0.3m.

Site 2, Kedrah
Isolated pit
206506 126818
An isolated deposit of burnt clay measuring 1m by 0.4m and 0.05m deep was fully resolved during testing.

Site 3, Killemly
Habitation
206962 126503
The site measured 37m by 10m and comprised four post-holes and an oval pit. The pit was 1m by 0.5m. One of the post-holes was 0.5m to the west of the pit, another was 5.5m to the north and there were two more 36m to the north of the pit. The post-holes were between 0.07m and 0.3m in diameter.

Site 4, Killemly
Habitation
207005 126459
The site measured 13m by 28m and comprised a series of stake-holes, post-holes and six pits. The stake-holes had an average diameter of 0.1m, the post-holes ranged from 0.2 to 0.3m in diameter and the pits measured between 0.6m by 0.7m and 1.4m by 1.4m.

Site 5, Killemly
Habitation
207058 126430
This site may be associated with Site 4. It was 4m by 3.5m and comprised four small pits. The pits varied from 0.25m by 0.35m to 0.62m by 0.5m.

Site 6, Suttonrath
Kiln
207263 126306
The site comprised a kiln and a post-hole. The kiln was figure-of-eight-shaped and was 1.7m long and 0.6m wide. The post-hole was almost 2m to the east and was 0.22m in diameter.

Site 7, Suttonrath
Pit
207366 126244
An isolated subcircular pit was uncovered and was fully resolved during testing. The pit was 0.67m by 0.63m and had a sharp break of slope and a flat base. It was 0.25m deep and was filled with light-brown sandy clay with occasional pieces of charcoal.

Site 8, Suttonrath
Post-medieval occupation
207426 126198
The site measured 7m by 8m and comprised two pits and a post-hole. One of the pits was 1.06m by 0.25m and a sherd of locally produced earthenware within its fill indicated that it was post-medieval in date. The second pit was located to the north-east and was 0.55m by 0.45m. To the west of this pit was a post-hole with a diameter of 0.17m.

Site 9, Suttonrath
Pit
207551 126115
This site comprised a large isolated pit, 6m by 1.1m. The pit was 0.4m deep but its date was not evident.

Site 10, Suttonrath
Habitation
207900 125970
The site was 5m by 4m and comprised a pit and three post-holes. The pit was 0.5m by 0.45m and the post-holes varied from 0.09m to 0.2m.

Site 11, Suttonrath
Habitation
207776 126000
The site measured 26m by 13m. There were four east–west-oriented linear features on the west of the site. They were between 0.65m and 1.05m wide but only the largest ditch was considered archaeological. Four subcircular pits on the east of the site were an average of 0.75m by 0.65m. Located 18m to the east were two circular pits of similar size. There were three post-holes and two pits on the west of the site. The post-holes were 0.4m in diameter and the pits measured 1.3m by 0.4m.

Site 12, Suttonrath
Habitation
207900 125969
This site measured 6m by 16m and comprised six pits. Four of the pits were arranged in a roughly east–west-oriented line which extended for 4m. The other two pits were located to the east and the north. They were an average of 0.5m by 0.5m.

Site 13, Ballylegan
Structure
208067 125838
The site measured 16m by 10m and comprised nine post-holes, which ranged from 0.08m to 0.35m in diameter. No coherent structure was evident from the layout of the post-holes exposed during testing.

Site 14, Ballylegan
Habitation
208158 125767
A site measuring 7m by 9m comprised two pits and five post-holes. The larger of the pits was 1.45m long and 0.75m wide. The smaller pit was 0.7m by 0.8m in size. There were three post-holes to the west of the larger pit and one to the east. They were 0.12m to 0.3m in diameter.

Site 15, Caherabbey Upper
Habitation
204160 126110
The site was 33m by 5m and comprised two pits and three post-holes. The smaller pit was 0.4m by 0.3m and the post-holes were 0.1m to 0.24m in diameter. The larger pit was 22.6m to the east of the post-holes and measured 3.35m by 1.2m.

Site 16, Caherabbey Upper
Habitation associated with Sites 17 and 18
204140 126085
The site was 28m by 5.5m and comprised eight subcircular pits and two post-holes. The pits ranged from 0.4m by 0.5m to 0.85m by 0.9m and the post-holes were 0.3m in diameter.

Site 17, Caherabbey Upper
Habitation associated with Sites 16 and 18
204180 126062
Measuring 30m north–south by 15m, the site comprised a series of pits (seven) and post holes (ten). The pits ranged from 0.65m by 1m to 1.35m by 0.7m and the post-holes were an average of 0.2m by 0.3m in size. No coherent structural pattern was evident from the layout of the post-holes.

Site 18, Caherabbey Upper
Habitation associated with Sites 17 and 18
204163 126039
This site was 18m by 10m and comprised four subcircular pits, four post-holes and two linear features. The pits were between 1.29m and 1.75m long and between 0.62m and 1.4m wide. The post-holes were located 2m to the south-east of the pits and were 0.15m to 0.42m in diameter. A sherd of prehistoric pottery was probably early Bronze Age in date.

Site 19, Caherabbey Lower
Kiln and associated features
204684 126475
This site measured 8m by 6m. It comprised a kiln, two pits and a hearth. The kiln measured 1.08m in length and 0.7m in width and there were two subcircular pits to the west. These measured 0.86m by 0.67m and 1m by 0.56m. To the south of the kiln was a hearth, which measured 0.94m by 0.66m.

Site 20, Caherabbey Lower
Habitation
204909 126600
This site was 6m by 4m and comprised three pits and a post-hole. The largest pit was 2.8m long and 0.22m to 0.8m wide. The other pits were 1.2m long and up to 0.45m wide and the post-hole was 0.2m in diameter.

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