2007:689 - Cahereen, Castleisland, Kerry

The impact of a proposed housing development in Cahereen, Castleisland, was assessed through a test excavation. The development is for large-scale residential housing and a section of the site is within the zone of archaeological constraint of an enclosure (KE040–025). No visible surface trace of the enclosing elements of the monument survives, although a regular depression in the field to the west of the development may indicate its location.
Four long test-trenches were excavated. The first test-trench was placed at the northern end of the site close to a narrow river. Topsoil consisted of light-brown sandy silt and the underlying subsoil varied from firm relatively stone-free clay to weathered fractured limestone. A very large quarry hole was encountered in the central area of the trench and this had been backfilled with modern domestic debris. A second trench was opened parallel with and to the south of Trench 1. The soil profile was similar and no features or finds of archaeological importance were present. The third test-trench was placed at the extreme western end of the site within the constraint zone of the enclosure. Fractured limestone was exposed at the southern end of the trench less than 0.2m below the existing ground level. The depth of the topsoil increased towards the northern end of the trench, but there was no evidence for a ditched enclosure and it would seem that the entire circuit of the monument lies outside the western field boundary. The fourth test-trench was located at the southern end of the site close to the back gardens of houses fronting on to the Killarney road. Topsoil at the north-west side of the trench measured 0.58m in depth and overlay firm stone-free clay subsoil. After a distance of 10m, the subsoil changed from clay to one of weathered fractured limestone interspersed in places with orange clay. No features or finds of archaeological merit were uncovered in this trench.