2007:1642 - Oxpark and Townsfields, Cloughjordan, Tipperary

An excavation was carried out on 21–28 May 2007 on a development site of the proposed Sustainable Community Development, The Village, Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary, for Sustainable Projects Ireland Ltd. The proposed development site is situated to the north of Cloughjordan village, in the townlands of Oxpark and Townsfields. The site encompasses a total of 67 acres, with the proposed development consisting of the construction of an environmentally friendly sustainable village. A total of 133 mixed residential units in addition to ancillary communal halls will be provided by the development within the southern twenty acres of the site. The remainder of the site will be used for woodlands and agricultural activity, with farm and maintenance buildings also provided. The development work will involve the diversion of the current stream, the construction of a large reed bed system and the construction of required roads, public lighting, foul sewer, storm water and wastewater treatment facilities.
Planning permission for the proposed development was granted subject to several archaeological conditions, including a request for a geophysical survey and an archaeological impact assessment. In advance of site construction and on foot of the impact assessment, the excavation of three sites, two fulachta fiadh and a possible burnt spread, was undertaken by Emer Dennehy (Excavations 2006, No. 1841, 06E0257). This excavation sought to resolve areas of potential noted in the geophysical work.
An Iron Age barrow (Site 4) and an industrial site (Site 5) were also identified during testing/geophysics (Clancy 2005; Harrison 2006; Dennehy 2006). Due to a redesign of the proposed development works, it was agreed that Sites 4 and 5 and the enclosure site (TN011–029) as present within the development site would be preserved in situ.
Three further sites (Sites 6–8) were uncovered in 2007 by Eoin Sullivan during a phase of monitoring. Site 6 comprised a burnt spread located in the southern end of the site; Site 7 consisted of a larger burnt spread located to the north-west of Site 6. Site 8 was a pit located to the north of Site 7. Due to the location of these sites within an area of the development site designated for dwelling construction, it was recommended and agreed with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government that they be fully excavated.
The excavation of Site 7 was carried out under licence 07E437 and the results are dealt with below. The results of the excavation of Site 6, carried out under licence 07E561, are dealt with below (No. 1643). Although Site 8 was identified during the initial monitoring phase, it was mistakenly removed by heavy machinery during intensive construction work. Monitoring notes were compiled and are included in the summary of Site 6.
Site 7 was revealed during the monitoring phase as a shallow burnt spread measuring c. 15m (north–south) by 10m. It had been truncated by a north-west/south-east-orientated post-medieval ditch, which contained a pipe at its base. This is thought to be a drainage or water pipe associated with 17th-century Cloughjordan House (TN016–001), which is located to the south-east of the development site.
The spread was removed to reveal a subrectangular trough (F8), which truncated the natural boulder clay. It was 1.5m long (north–south), 1.2m wide and 0.14m deep. It was filled with a clay lining, a charcoal-rich context and a peat sealing layer. It was truncated by two stake-holes, one in the north-eastern edge and one in the north-west. It was truncated along its southern side by the post-medieval ditch. An oval feature (F29), the fills of which were rich in charcoal, was situated c. 5m north of the trough. It may have served as a possible waterhole/roasting pit and was 1.86m long (north-east/south-west), 1.37m wide and 0.43m deep. An ephemeral linear feature was located c. 7m north-west of the trough; excavation revealed it to be a shallow curvilinear feature and no obvious function was discerned. A shallow depression filled with a mix of heat-shattered sandstone and charcoal-rich clay was also located in the northern part of Site 7. This was 1.84m long (north-west/south-east), 1.9m wide and 0.05m deep.
Charcoal samples from the spread were analysed and hazel, alder and ash were identified. The presence of insect holes suggests that the material was derived from decayed wood. While most of the hazel fragments had strongly curved annual rings, which indicated the use of branches or rods, the ash fragments were slower growing, with weakly curved rings indicating that the firewood originally comprised trunk material or larger branches.
Analysis of the charcoal from the middle fill of the trough (F8) showed that hazel branches were used to fuel the fire, which created the charcoal-rich layer. The sample was radiocarbon-dated to give a date of 1124–931 cal bc (2861628; uba-8155), placing it in the Late Bronze Age.
A sample from the oval feature (F29) was also analysed. This feature contained a fill which was rich in charcoal created by the burning of a variety of woods; oak, ash, hazel, alder and wild/bird cherry were present.
The features are concentrated closely together and it is probable that they constitute some type of small-scale industrial site. The presence of limestone within the spread and features appears to rule out the idea that the site was used for cooking. It may have been utilised for washing or bleaching cloth or wool, or perhaps for the creation of lye associated with soap production and baking powder. The site cannot be viewed in isolation; there are a number of burnt spreads and mounds within this site and together they appear to signify some type of communal and continuous prehistoric activity across the site. The final report has not been prepared yet and it will be in compiling this that the author may come to a conclusion about the function of the site and its features.
References
Clancy, P. 2005 Sustainable Community, Cloghjordan, Co. Tipperary, Archaeological Impact Report. Unpublished report, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Dennehy, E. 2006 Archaeological Impact Assessment, The Village, Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary, Unpublished report, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Dennehy, E. 2006 Archaeological Excavation Work, The Village, Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary, Unpublished report, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Harrison, D. 2006 Geophysical Survey Report, The Village, Cloghjordan, Co. Tipperary, Licence No. 06-R-020. Unpublished report, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.