2007:1669 - Garravally 1, Tipperary

Phase 2 excavations along 17.1km (Contact 1) of the 35km N7 Castletown to Nenagh (Derrinsallagh to Ballintotty) national road scheme were commissioned by Laois County Council and the National Roads Authority. Contract 1 comprises the western half of the scheme and runs from Clashnevin to Castelroan, passing along the Tipperary North and Offaly county border regions. Six areas of archaeology were uncovered during Contract 1 trial-trench testing. Garavally 1, Area 2.6, was tested under licence E3371 (see No. 1628 above) in 2007.
The site was located 150m to the east of Killeisk 1 (E3587, No. 1693 below) in the adjoining field. The excavation revealed the remains of one fire pit, one possible post-hole and one small pit/post-hole. The pit measured 1.85m long, 1.1m wide and 0.26m deep. It was aligned north-west to south-east. It was a fire pit that contained three fills, all of which contained evidence of residual burning, with one at least representing in situ burning. This contained dense charcoal, ash and burnt clay, all representing the residue from burning. Quite a lot of wood would have been required to produce such a thick layer of charcoal. A possible post-hole was located 0.9m to the west. It measured 0.6m long, 0.5m wide and 0.27m deep. It contained a single sterile fill. The final excavated feature was a small pit located 0.15m south of the post-hole. It measured 0.27m long by 0.25m wide and 0.26m deep. It was a small discrete feature that resembled a post-hole. This was a small group of isolated features with evidence for burning. There is no further evidence for the function or date of these features at this stage.