2007:1565 - ANNAHOLTY, Tipperary

Archaeological investigations in advance of the N7 Nenagh to Limerick high-quality dual carriageway road project took place at Annaholty between 9 and 20 February 2007. Excavations revealed two separate areas of archaeological features c. 30m apart (see also No. 1566, E2327, Excavations 2007).

This concentration of features consisted of three small burnt-stone and charcoal spreads and three pits (C5, C17 and C28). C17 was a medium-sized subcircular pit which contained burnt stone and charcoal. Its southernmost fill was cut by a medium-sized pit which contained a large amount of charcoal and stone. C17 may have represented a rudimentary kiln and C5 the evidence of reuse within it. Post-excavation sampling may reveal grain evidence to support the kiln hypothesis.

Pit C28 was large, irregular and keyhole-shaped and contained a number of fills, some of which contained charcoal. This may have been a cooking pit and had three spreads of waste associated with it. The features were subsequently cut by a series of modern drainage ditches. There were no finds from the excavation.