County: Kilkenny Site name: AR064, Tinvaun
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A032/099; E3680
Author: James Kyle, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Wicklow.
Site type: Prehistoric settlement activity
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 651378m, N 639786m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.507046, -7.243175
This site was located within the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford road scheme along Contract 2, Phase 4, Knocktopher to Powerstown. The site appeared to have two phases, medieval and post-medieval (furrows). The medieval features showed evidence of metalworking occurring on site or in the immediate vicinity. These features consisted of several deep post-holes (e.g. 0.4m diameter by 0.4m depth) backfilled with high concentrations of iron slag and burnt material; these were centred on a broadly curvilinear slot-trench/drip-trench-type feature (2m by 0.6m by 0.4m), which may have formed part of a structure. In addition to these features, but of an indeterminate date, were the truncated remains of a hut, 10m to the north. The hut was formed by five enclosing shallow, spaced, slot-trench-like pits with a central pit/post-hole on the interior of this area. The area enclosed (7m north-west/south-east by 5m) was subrectangular in plan and showed no sign of a hearth, flooring or entrance. As such this may have been a temporary structure associated with possible transhumance farming activity.
