County: Laois Site name: BUSHFIELD or MAGHERNASKEAGH (6)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A015/167, E2457
Author: Ken Wiggins, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: House - 16th/17th century and Well
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 629023m, N 685551m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.920007, -7.568419
This site was located within Contract 2 of the proposed M7 Portlaoise to Castletown/M8 Portlaoise to Cullahill motorway scheme and was identified during advance testing by Lydia Cagney in March and April 2005 (Excavations 2005, No. 861, A015/033). It was excavated on behalf of Laois County Council, funded by the National Roads Authority, between August and October 2006.
The presence of a blocked-up stone-lined well was the first indicator of archaeological potential. Topsoil-stripping revealed the footings of an associated wall, enclosing a cobblestone yard, and the foundations of a dwelling house and a small stable or shed. The dwelling is shown on the 1839 first-edition OS map but had been destroyed by the landowner in the 1980s during land clearance and was not evident on the ground during testing. The well (which may have been an earlier feature, possibly medieval) was adjacent to a mass path. The finds mostly consisted of agricultural implements associated with the dwelling, but there were also a number of trademarked bottles. There were no finds from the well.
Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth
