County: Offaly Site name: Ballynasrah 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: - Licence number: A033, E2493
Author: Tom Janes, Headland Archaeology Ltd, Unit 1, Wallingstown Business Park, Little Island, Cork.
Site type: Metalworking area
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 599524m, N 711289m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.152113, -8.007103
Ballynasrah 1, excavated in advance of the proposed N52 Tullamore bypass national road scheme, was located c. 1.5km north of Tullamore in gently undulating farmland that was under pasture at the time of testing.
Two small circular pits with evidence of in situ burning were identified in offset T8 on the eastern edge of the CPO corridor. An area of 17m north–south by 9m was opened around the features, but no further archaeological deposits were identified.
The larger of the two pits (Context 03) was subcircular in plan with steeply sloping sides; the base tapered to a blunt point broadly kidney-shaped in plan. It measured 0.4m north-east/south-west by 0.3m and was 0.4m deep. The sides of the cut displayed evidence of in situ burning; the natural geology through which the pit was cut was fire-reddened to a thickness of c. 0.03m. The feature had two fills. The upper fill comprised a compact yellow/orange burnt sandy clay, with moderate inclusions of charcoal flecks and fragments. This layer was 0.11m deep and sealed the basal fill, a loose charcoal-rich brownish-black sandy silt with frequent inclusions of charcoal flecks and fragments, moderate pieces of burnt clay and moderate small, medium and large pieces of ferrous slag. This layer was 0.29m deep. No diagnostic artefacts were recovered from either layer, but both contexts were sampled for future environmental analysis.
The second pit (Context 05) was 0.2m south-west of Context 03. It was circular with steep sides and a concave base; it measured 0.29m in diameter and 0.13m deep. There was also evidence of in situ burning around the edges of the cut; the natural geology was fire-reddened to a thickness of 0.02m. Context 05 was filled with a charcoal-rich sandy silt from which frequent inclusions of ferrous slag were recovered. Moderate amounts of burnt clay were also noted and sampled for environmental analysis. No other archaeological deposits were identified in the extended area around the feature or in neighbouring test-trenches.
