County: Kerry Site name: Knockanacuig
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 07E0905
Author: Declan Moore, Moore Archaeological & Environmental Services Ltd, Corporate House, Ballybrit Business Park, Ballybrit, Galway.
Site type: Testing
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 481984m, N 614629m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.270678, -9.729209
Testing was carried out at Knockanacuig, Tralee, Co. Kerry, in October 2007. Dillon Waste Ltd currently operates a waste and recycling facility on the site, which is c. 0.86ha in size. The proposed development will regularise the current operation by demolishing a number of buildings on site and erecting a purpose-built material recycling facility and public recycling area.
The proposed development is located immediately west of KE029–112, classified as an Iron Age hillfort. As part of a planning application, an assessment was carried out. As part of this assessment, a site inspection was carried out on 1 March 2007. Two possible archaeological features were noted during the course of assessment. Immediately west of the hillfort a possible external curvilinear feature (possibly representing a ditch) was observed. Further west and just south of the proposed MRF facility a circular depression (c. 3m in diameter) was observed. This assessment recommended that a programme of pre-development testing be carried out at the site.
Further to discussions with Mark Keegan of DoEHLG and Michael Connolly of Kerry County Council, it was proposed to carry out hand testing of three trenches in the area of a possible outer ditch in order to ascertain with greater clarity the perimeter of the archaeological site, a further hand-dug trial-trench at the location of the second anomaly as well as a number of trenches along the footprint of the proposed development. Testing was carried out in October 2007. Nothing of archaeological significance was noted in any of the trenches.
Trenches 2–4 were significantly disturbed and there was evidence of substantial dumping in the area. Trenches 1 and 5–7 were undisturbed, but no evidence of the outer ditch was observed.
