2006:164 - Busherstown, Carlow

The site was excavated as part of the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford scheme: Kilcullen to Powerstown. Testing was previously carried out here under Ministerial Direction number A021/020 (Excavations 2005, No. 70).
Two sample areas were initially stripped by machine to further examine a roadway during June 2006. These were excavated between 12 June and 18 August as part of the group of sites at Busherstown. The first was a triangular area in the north-western field, defined by a modern drainage ditch around the right angle of the field boundary. The roadway was seen along the length of its north-eastern edge. The road was found to be over 3m wide but its full width was not seen because of truncation by the later ditch. A flanking ditch was found along its southern side, 0.4m wide and 0.2–0.3m deep, although any northern equivalent would also have been truncated. In the field to the south-east the initial 400m2 area stripped missed the roadway, but subsequent stripping of the area between it and the field boundary showed that the roadway ran diagonally across the whole road-take zone for a distance of c. 100m in a straight line towards the graveyard at the top of the hill to the south-east. It is concluded that this was an access route to the graveyard from the main Carlow to Hacketstown road, probably in use from after the construction of Busherstown House at least until the abandonment of the graveyard in the early 19th century. No finds were recovered to confirm this date or support an earlier suggestion.