2007:1560 - Annaholty, Tipperary

The work was undertaken to determine the archaeological potential of an area of ancillary works associated with the N7 Nenagh to Limerick dual carriageway. The proposed development site lies to the south of Annaholty crossroads and c. 600m south-east of the existing N7 roadway. It lies approximately 1km to the south-west of a zone of archaeological potential for TN031–050, a rectangular enclosure site.
Test-trenching took place between 23 and 26 April 2007. A total of 36 trenches were excavated, totalling 2988 linear metres. The ancillary works areas were located to the south-east (Area 1) and north-west (Area 2) of the new road, at Chainage 61800281700. The topsoil consisted of mid-brown clayey silt with occasional small stones throughout and a depth of 0.1–0.5m. The topsoil lay above orange sandy clay natural in most areas. Portions of Area 1 consisted of bog, which reached a depth of 2.5m in one area. As the construction works will not impact more than 0.6m below the ground surface, those trenches which revealed bog were excavated to a depth of 0.8m.
One feature excavated, a possible charcoal production pit, was, however, extensively disturbed by burrowing, root activity and possibly by machine. There may have been other related features close by but, due to the fact that they were directly under shallow topsoil, it is possible that these have not survived.