2007:1591 - SITE AR33, BORRIS, Tipperary

Excavation continued on this site and was completed October 2007, in advance of construction of the M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel road scheme (see Excavations 2006, No. 1933 for an earlier report). Prior assessment was carried out by Bernice Molloy, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd, in 2005/2006 (Excavations 2005, No. 1388, A027/006). The site was located south of the medieval borough of Twomileborris village, adjacent to a ringfort and ruined church and graveyard. The site was located east of two sites also excavated for this road scheme, a flat cremation cemetery located 200m east and on the highest point of a ridge overlooking the site (Excavations 2006, No. 1932, E2375) and a multi-period site either side of the Black River (Excavations 2006, No. 1931; No. 1592 below, E2374).
Excavation revealed multi-period settlement activity, mostly early medieval in date, with three large enclosures (A–C) situated on an east-facing slope overlooking the Black River. Prehistoric features, although less common, included a large enclosure and cremation pits. The enclosures extended outside the limits of the area required for construction of the road.
Prehistoric enclosure
A large prehistoric enclosure (Enclosure D) was excavated, measuring c. 100m in diameter. It was situated on low-lying ground, within the flood-plain of the Black River. It contained an east-facing entrance, 3.2m wide flanked by a pair of post-holes adjacent to the ditch termini. A human cranial fragment was found in the basal fill of the ditch adjacent to the northern terminus. In addition, a cluster of six pits and twelve post-holes were revealed in the centre of the enclosure. Two cremations and a pit containing stake-holes and a deposit of bovine bones were also present in the interior of the enclosure. Charcoal, heat-affected stone, charred cereal grain and a flint scraper were retrieved from the ditch fills.
Pre-ringfort enclosure
Approximately 60m north of Enclosure D was a complex of enclosures, the earliest of which was a D-shaped enclosure (Enclosure B) measuring 42m long and 39m wide. The enclosure comprised a V-shaped ditch, measuring 1.6m average width, by 0.6m in depth, with an east-facing entrance. Five large post-holes straddled the 3.2m-wide entrance, giving it a strongly defensive character. A circular structure, 6m in diameter, and 45 subsoil-cut pits, were situated in the interior of Enclosure B. The ditch fill contained metallurgical residues, a pyramidal-shaped crucible, three iron knives, a sharpening stone, much animal bone and charcoal.
Ringfort
The next phase of activity was represented by the construction of a ringfort (Enclosure A) which truncated the northern extent of Enclosure B. Enclosure A was circular and measured 32m in overall diameter. The ditch was also V-shaped, with a flat base, and measured an average of 1.6m wide and 0.8m in depth. Numerous features were present in the interior of the enclosure including four circular structures, shallow pits and a circular bowl furnace 0.35m in diameter. The structural remains were characterised by post-holes and curvilinear wall slots and drainage gullies. Several pits were present in the interior; one contained an iron knife and a pair of whetstones. The ditch fills contained much animal bone, several iron knives, a glass bead, a bone-comb fragment, a quernstone fragment, several carved bone points, a stone gaming board and metallurgical residues.
Cemetery
A cemetery of twenty extended inhumations oriented west–east was situated to the south of the ringfort. The majority of the burials were located within Enclosure B, but the precise chronological relationship of the burials to the enclosures is unknown. A copper-alloy ring-pin was found associated with one individual.
Enclosure C
The final phase of enclosure construction was represented by a large rectangular enclosure (Enclosure C), measuring 95m long and 65m wide. The northern end of the Enclosure C ditch recut and widened the northern extent of Enclosure A. Enclosure C had a rock-cut ditch 3.4m in average width and 1.6m in depth. The ditch was U-shaped with a flat bottom. A whetstone, two iron knives, a copper boss and much animal bone were retrieved from the ditch fills. Features within Enclosure C included two cereal-drying kilns, a four-post arrangement, a smithing hearth and two circular structures 6m and 6.3m in diameter, one surrounded by a curvilinear drainage gully.