2006:1265 - Gortadroma, Limerick

A licence to carry out monitoring of topsoil-stripping in a greenfield site during extension works to a Limerick County Council landfill was issued in 2005, but this work was subsequently delayed until 2006. Two spreads of burnt material, containing heat-shattered stones in charcoal-enriched deposits, were uncovered at a distance of 40m apart. The proposed development plan for the landfill extension will not allow for in situ preservation of the burnt spreads and, following consultation with the National Monuments Service, it was agreed that these features should be fully excavated.
Excavation of Site 1 exposed a sub-oval spread (10.5m south-west/north-east by 8m) of heat-shattered sandstone within charcoal-enriched silty soil. The stone deposit was up to 0.2m deep along the western edge and directly overlay the fibrous peaty subsoil. A blackened heat-cracked slab (0.18m north–south by 0.24m by 0.05m thick), embedded in a greyish-black charcoal-stained silty material (0.06m thick), was exposed within the heat-shattered stone deposit towards the centre of the spread. This slab may have provided a flat surface on which to cook and may have been used as a pot stand. Alternatively, food may have been placed directly on the flat surface for cooking. The location of the flat stone within the heat-shattered stone deposit suggests use of the site over a period of time.
Excavation of Site 2 exposed a kidney-shaped spread of heat-shattered sandstone mixed with charcoal-enriched soil (4.3m north-west/south-east by 1.7m) directly overlying a naturally occurring grey clay subsoil. The small size of the deposit suggests single or short-term use.
There were no troughs or hearths associated with either site, nor any trace of associated settlement in the surrounding subsoil. A possible hone stone was recovered from the heat-shattered stone deposit at Site 1. Charcoal recovered from the heat-shattered stone deposits at each site may yield a radiocarbon date.