County: Carlow Site name: Clonmelsh
Sites and Monuments Record No.: - Licence number: E002612
Author: Áine Richardson, Headland Archaeology Ltd, Unit 1, Wallingstown Business Park, Little Island, Cork.
Site type: Enclosure, prehistoric activity
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 671698m, N 671602m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.790658, -6.936992
The site was excavated as part of the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford scheme: Kilcullen to Powerstown. Testing carried out under Ministerial Direction A021/054 on this site in 2005 (Excavations 2005, No. 96) identified a potential prehistoric site with evidence of a possible enclosure located on the opposite side of the field.
Full resolution was conducted on this site between 11 and 18 July 2006. For ease, the area was divided into two separate sites, E2612a and E2612b. Site E2612a is in the south-eastern part of the field (NGR: 271775 170510), whereas site E2612b is located in the north-western part of the field (NGR: 271748 170627). The field comprises gently undulating land and at the time of testing was under a crop of barley.
Excavation revealed a large enclosure ditch on the south-eastern side of the field and a small settlement site on the north-western side of the field. The exposed section of the enclosure, approximately one-third of its projected extent, was 60m in diameter north-east/south-west, with a ditch measuring 2.5m in both width and depth.
