County: Westmeath Site name: BALLYKILMORE (6)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A001/032, E2798
Author: John Channing, for Valerie J. Keeley Ltd.
Site type: Church and Graveyard
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 641791m, N 737279m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.384027, -7.371811
Excavations were conducted in advance of the N6 realignment immediately south of Tyrellspass, Co. Westmeath. The site was identified through centreline testing carried out by CRDS Ltd.
The excavation, which took place between 8 November 2003 and 13 May 2005, revealed the presence of two ditch segments extending outside the excavation area; these were interpreted as an enclosure. The enclosure was semicircular in plan, suggesting an original subcircular or slightly oval plan with a maximum internal diameter of c. 70m. The excavated sections of the ditch followed a continuous course interrupted by a 2m-wide gap/causeway on its eastern side. The causeway seems to have served as an entrance to the interior. The segments of the enclosure to the north and south of the entrance, unlike other parts of the ditch, follow an almost straight line.
The enclosure ditch presented a V-shaped section with a slightly rounded bottom. The surviving width on the subsoil surface was between 2.43m and 3.3m. It gradually decreased towards the terminals of the ditch, with a maximum width of 2m on the northern and 2.15m on the southern side of the entrance. The surviving depth varied between 1.47m and 1.61 m.
The main internal features consisted of a rectangular structure (c. 7m by 20m) with an east–west alignment, several pits with mixed fill, post-holes and c. 9001 inhumations. The inhumations appeared to divide into three main phases, the first two based on slightly differing orientation with the third phase reflecting use of the site as a cillín. The presence of the post-holes, pits and slags reflects non-funeral site activities. However, the rectangular structure is interpreted as a church, on the basis of orientation and relationship with inhumations.
Editor’s note: Although this licence was issued during 2005, the report on the work was not received in time for inclusion in the bulletin of that year.
Brehon House, Kilkenny Road, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny
