County: Tipperary Site name: Ballintotty
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E002935
Author: Frank Ryan, for Aegis Archaeology Ltd, 32 Nicolas Street, Kings Island, Limerick.
Site type: Two enclosures
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 590942m, N 678321m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.855741, -8.134486
Site A026/445 in the townland of Ballintotty was discovered during Phase 1 testing of the N7 Nenagh to Limerick road project in 2006. The site was located 200m west-north-west of Ballintotty Castle (TN021–055), 250m south of a ringfort (TN021–053) and 50m east of an enclosure and hall house (TN021–94(01, 02)), excavated by Paul Logue (Excavations 1998, No. 584, 97E0328). The site was situated on a north-facing slope where it rose gently to the south, while to the north it descended gradually down into a wetland environment that contained a burnt spread and a timber trackway/platform (No. 1572 above, E2934).
Excavations were carried out between 25 January and 11 May 2007. Site E2935 consisted of two enclosures, one truncating the other. The smaller enclosure had an internal dimension of 35m north–south by 30m. The later enclosure was larger in size, encompassing an area 58m north–south by 57m. This larger enclosure truncated the smaller earlier one in the north-east corner and along the smaller enclosure’s northern and eastern sides. A possible annexe had also been added to the subsequent larger enclosure; this enclosed an area 16m north–south by 52m.
Four kilns, probably all corn-drying kilns, were excavated. All were stone-lined, though two had been at least partially robbed out. As yet no definitive date can be established for any of the kilns as no diagnostic finds where recovered from any secure contexts.
One extremely large pit measuring 8.2m north–south by 6m was excavated close to the centre of the earlier enclosure. This large pit had a square slot-trench in the base, suggesting a sunken house or subsurface storage chamber for a structure.
Two inhumations were excavated; one contained the remains of a female and small child and was located within the annexe ditch and the second, that of an adult, was located just north of the smaller enclosure ditch in the north-east of the site. A possible cremation was also located within the earlier enclosure and a polished stone axehead was found within a pit located several metres to the west. These may be from an earlier period of activity in the area.
Any association with either Ballintotty Hall House or Ballintotty Castle will be explored during post-excavation analysis.
