County: Carlow Site name: Johnstown
Sites and Monuments Record No.: - Licence number: E002586
Author: Áine Richardson, Headland Archaeology Ltd, Unit 1, Wallingstown Business Park, Little Island, Cork.
Site type: Three burnt mounds, burnt spreads, plank-lined trough
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 677583m, N 676254m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.831656, -6.848643
The site was excavated as part of the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford scheme: Kilcullen to Powerstown. Testing carried out on this site by Caitriona Gleeson under Ministerial Direction A021/028 in 2005 identified two spreads of burnt-mound material and an associated plank-built trough (Excavations 2005, No. 100).
The site comprised a roughly trapezoidal area of 7038m2. It sloped downwards from north to south, with the main gradient being in the northern part, causing the southern section of the site to be relatively level. This led to generally much wetter ground in the southern part, and greater flooding during excavation works.
Full resolution was conducted between 14 March and 14 April 2006. This revealed that the burnt-mound material mainly filled several unusually large pits, as well as some smaller pits and troughs. Four large wooden planks were also recovered from this site, one of which was from a previously undiscovered trough.
