County: Laois Site name: TINTORE (2)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A015/099, E2209
Author: Eamonn Cotter, for Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: Enclosure
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 634413m, N 680548m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.874726, -7.488804
The site was excavated in February and March 2006 as part of the programme of resolution of archaeological sites on the route of the proposed M7 Portlaoise to Castletown/M8 Portlaoise to Cullahill motorway scheme. Two other fulachta fiadh were excavated nearby, one 50m to the north at Curragh 2 (see No. 1159, Excavations 2006) and one 80m to the north-east at Tintore 1 (see No. 1190, Excavations 2006).
The principal feature of the site was a subcircular enclosure with internal measurements of 30m by 33m. The enclosure ditch was 2.3m wide on average and had a maximum depth of 0.9m. It had a ‘truncated V’ profile, with steep sides and a flat base. The entrance was a causeway measuring 4.2m wide and facing south-east. Near the centre of the enclosure were two pits filled with burnt stone. One, C46, was approximately square, measuring 1.75m by 1.75m and 0.36m deep. The second, C48, was located 2.5m to the east and measured 2.52m by 1.11m and 0.42m deep. Both were filled with burnt stone similar to that found in a fulacht fiadh mound. This, combined with the lack of evidence for in situ burning, suggests that the pits were used for heating water, similar to fulacht fiadh troughs. A cluster of post- and stake-holes was located to the south and south-east of these features, but no definite coherent pattern that might identify a structure could be identified. However, one group of thirteen post-holes of varying sizes could tentatively be proposed as forming a circular structure c. 4m in diameter. The structure would have been located to the south-east of the pits. Alternatively the post-holes might represent a substantial ‘screen’ which was replaced on several occasions.
Approximately 10m to the south of the enclosure a small circular pit containing cremated bone was excavated. The bone has been identified as human.
Ten sherds of pottery were recovered from the site. Seven of these came from the base of the ditch immediately east of the entrance and two from an internal post-hole within the enclosure; these have been provisionally identified as dating to the Middle/Late Bronze Age. The tenth sherd came from a pit outside the enclosure and has been provisionally identified as Early Neolithic.
The site is interpreted as a Middle Bronze Age enclosure, with some earlier activity in the area dating to the Neolithic period.
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