2007:1631 - Cloghleigh, Tipperary

This site was excavated in advance of the N7 Nenagh to Limerick road project from Chainage 23685 to 23940. The site was located in the foothills of the Arra Mountains, on an east-facing slope overlooking the Kilmastulla Valley. Three areas (A–C) were investigated over a 250m length of the road route. Excavated features included spreads of fulacht fiadh material, a pit containing fulacht fiadh material and a series of pits. There was some distance between the areas of fulacht fiadh activity and the series of pits and it is not clear whether the features are all related. Areas A and B were excavated between 15 September and 2 November 2006, while Area C was excavated between 5 April and 14 May 2007.
Area A
Area A contained two spreads of fulacht fiadh-type material. The first was a 2.1m by 1.9m and 0.1m thick spread of burnt stone mixed with dark-brown to black sandy clay with inclusions of charcoal. The second spread was of dark-brown to black sandy clay with a high quantity of charcoal throughout and was more organic in nature containing a very small amount of burnt stone. The second spread measured 1.5m by 1.15m and was 0.06m to 0.1m thick.
Area B
Four pits where excavated in Area B. Agricultural activity, in the form of ploughing, truncated all the features. All the pits contained deposits of dark-brown sandy clay. The largest pit had a band of charcoal lining the pit, measured 1.4m by 1.1m and was 0.2m deep. The smallest pit was 0.3m in diameter and 0.08m deep.
Area C
Area C was 65m south-east of Area A and contained two features, a circular concave pit cutting a root hole. Both features were filled with the same deposit of black loose silt with inclusions of around 70% burnt stone and charcoal flecking throughout. This deposit was similar to fulacht fiadh material. The pit measured 1m by 0.8m and was 0.24m deep.