County: Tipperary Site name: SUTTONRATH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E002128
Author: Melanie McQuade, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: House - Neolithic, House - Bronze Age and Pit
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 607673m, N 626076m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.386183, -7.887282
The three sites 206.1, 206.2 and 206.3 were excavated under ministerial directive A035/00 in advance of construction of the N24 road linking to the N8 north of Cahir.
Site 206.1 was situated on slightly elevated ground and the area of excavation measured 20m by 14m. The site consisted of a series of pits and post-holes. The pits were between 0.38m and 0.52m wide and 0.08m and 0.34m deep. The post-holes had an average diameter of 0.1m and were up to 0.3m deep. These features did not form a coherent ground plan but are indicative of settlement activity which has been dated to the Neolithic period (3637–3556 cal BC).
Site 206.2 was located 21m to the east of 206.1 and the area of excavation measured 19m by 32m. There were at least two structures on this site. Structure 1 stood on the west of the site and was defined by a curvilinear slot-trench and a subcircular arrangement of post-holes. It had an internal diameter of 5m. The slot-trench was 2.35m long, 0.15m wide and 0.22m deep. There were four stake-holes within the western part of the slot-trench and a terminal post-hole at its other end. There were two cooking pits within Structure 1 and a Middle Bronze Age date of 1607–1436 cal BC was obtained for one of these. A cluster of post-holes located 3.7m east of Structure 1 indicates the remains of Structure 2. Its western wall was defined by a curvilinear arrangement of ten post-holes. These were aligned roughly north–south and extended for 4.6m.
A series of pits and post-holes located in the area surrounding Structures 1 and 2 were probably the result of related settlement activity. The second and third phases of activity on site were represented by two ditches, F6, F12, and a large pit or ditch, F98, which date from the post-medieval period.
Site 206.3 was located upslope and to the east of Site 206.2 and north-west of sites 207.1 and 207.3 (see No. 1812, Excavations 2006, E2265). The area of excavation measured 15m by 20m and the site comprised a pit and three post-holes. The pit measured 1.05m by 0.83m and was either used for cooking or to contain domestic rubbish. The post-holes were on average 0.3m in diameter and up to 0.28m deep. The site was dated to the Late Bronze Age (1107–857 cal BC).
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