County: Kilkenny Site name: Scart/Ballynamona/Maddockstown/ Rathgarvan or Clifden/Rathcash/Rathcash West/Rathcash East/Blanchvillespark
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A032/053; E3363
Author: Gill McLoughlin, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Site type: Burnt mounds, possible prehistoric habitation site, pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 657682m, N 653835m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.632676, -7.147885
Archaeological investigations were conducted between Chainage 37100 and 76000 of the proposed N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford scheme, Phase 4, Knocktopher to Powerstown. This summary deals with Test Area 4 located between Chainage 5500 Kilkenny link, 48000 of the road scheme, located in the townlands of Scart, Ballynamona, Maddockstown, Rathgarvan or Clifden, Rathcash, Rathcash West, Rathcash East and Blanchvillespark. Testing commenced on 29 March and was completed on 17 April 2007. The testing methodology generally consisted of mechanically excavating a 2m-wide trench along the centre-line with offsets every 20m across the width of the land-take and offsets every 10m at site specific areas already identified during the EIS stage.
A total of nine sites were identified during testing in Test Area 4. Most of the sites uncovered were burnt mounds or spreads of burnt-mound material (sites AR148, No. 989 above, E3759; AR147, No. 1007 above, E3760; AR102, No. 999 above, E3859; AR103, No. 998 above, E3860; AR105, No. 1000 above, E3893; and AR108 – to be reported on in Excavations 2008). These sites are consistent with similar excavated sites which typically date to the second millennium bc.
A possible habitation site (AR107, No. 886 above, E3894) was also uncovered and a date in the Neolithic or the Bronze Age is tentatively put forward for this.
A single pit at site AR104 (No. 999 above, E3892) contained burnt stone and animal bone and could date to any period. It could also be associated with a spread of burnt-mound material located c. 140m to the west.
A concentration of pits uncovered at site AR106 (No. 1001 above, E3861) appears to be associated with smelting activity. Iron slag was present in some of the fills but the absence of any further finds leaves the date unclear.
