County: Kilkenny Site name: AR057, Baysrath
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A032/089; E3629
Author: Fintan Walsh, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Wicklow.
Site type: Two burnt mounds/fulachta fiadh
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 651465m, N 638330m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.493946, -7.242119
This site was located within the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford road scheme along Contract 2, Phase 4, Knocktopher to Powerstown. It was identified during testing carried out by Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd and was excavated between 5 and 19 September 2007. The site (42m east–west by 60m) was located on marginal land between bog, to the east, and rising pasture, to the west.
Burnt Mound I (9.4m east–west by 9m by 0.33m) was located in the southern half of the site and consisted of heat-fractured stone and charcoal-rich clay. No trough was uncovered. Five possible pits and irregular shallow gully features were uncovered under the mound; however, these features were insubstantial, irregular and did not form any discernible pattern.
Burnt Mound II (15m east–west by 10m by 0.2m), located in the north-east section of the site, consisted of heat-fractured stone and charcoal-rich clay. The burnt mound sealed one possible pit (0.6m diameter by 0.36m depth) filled with heat-fractured stone and charcoal-rich clay. It is possible that this was the remains of a truncated trough.
