County: Kilkenny Site name: BALLYLUSKY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AR032/028, E3004
Author: Marianne Nolan, for Valerie J. Keeley Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 656740m, N 625170m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.375148, -7.166684
This site was identified as an area of archaeological potential during the testing phase of the pre-construction archaeological works on the N9/N10 upgrade. Three possible archaeological features had been recorded. To resolve this site, 40m by 25m of topsoil was removed using a caterpillar machine. The site was excavated down to the natural material. The three previously known features were uncovered, but they proved to be of little, if any, archaeological significance. A fourth feature, a French-style drain, was found adjacent to these features.
The site was located on the southern slope of a substantial, gradually sloping, hillside. The most southerly feature was a subrectangular cut with sloped sides and an uneven base. It was 0.44m long, 0.4m wide and 0.22m deep and was filled by moderately compact mid-red/brown silty clay with occasional inclusions of small sub-angular stones. Two metres north of this was an irregular (elongated S-shaped) curvilinear cut with sloped sides and a concave base. This was 10m long, 0.45m wide and 0.25m deep. It was filled by moderately compact grey/brown silty sand, again with occasional inclusions of small sub-angular stones. The north-west terminal of this feature was almost imperceptible. As this feature was very irregular, it is difficult to define its function, but it appeared to have served as a drain. The third feature was located 4m north of the north-western end of this drain. Here the cut was oval in plan with sloped sides and an uneven base. It measured 0.54m long, 0.3m wide and 0.19m deep. The fill consisted of moderately compact dark-brown silty clay with frequent flecks of charcoal and occasional small sub-angular stones. Given that two of the features had uneven bases, it is unlikely that they were archaeological in nature.
The fourth feature, a French-style drain, was located 10m to the north-west of the first three. This drain was inverted L-shaped in plan. The long side of the L measured 3.7m, while the shorter side was 3.1m long. The centre of the drain was 0.2–0.25m wide and it was c. 0.3m deep. This feature consisted of rough side walls, a base and capstones and was identified as an early modern field drain. It was filled by loosely compacted mid-grey/brown silty clay. This excavation yielded no evidence of archaeologically significant material.
Brehon House, Kilkenny Road, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny
