2007:1696 - KILNACRANNA, Tipperary

Archaeological investigation in advance of the N7 Nenagh to Limerick road project at Kilnacranna took place between 16 January and 29 June 2007. The site consisted of eleven different areas (A026/254–264).

At A026/254 were cultivation furrows and small pits. At A026/255 were cultivation furrows and a stone-clearance pit.

A026/258–260 formed the main area of archaeological interest. Three enclosures were identified on the north bank of the Kilmastulla River: a large rectangular enclosure, a curvilinear enclosure and a ‘plectrum’-shaped enclosure. As the features clearly extended outside the road-take south towards the river, Target Archaeological Geophysics undertook a survey of this area, and also a survey of the topsoil-stripped area inside, prior to cleaning.

The rectangular enclosure had a maximum diameter of 74.82m by c. 1.1m deep by c. 1.7m wide, and was the stratigraphically earliest enclosure. Carbon 14 dating of cremated remains recovered from the top fills of its ditch gave a date of between 1476 BP and 1430 BP, an Iron Age/Early Christian terminus ante quem date, for the enclosure.

Truncating this enclosure was a larger curvilinear ditch which had a maximum diameter of 100.26m by c. 3.35m wide by c. 1.35m deep. The third enclosure again truncated the earlier rectangular enclosure and was roughly ‘plectrum’-shaped, measuring 21.26m north–south by 19.57m, with the ditch being c. 1.5m wide to a maximum depth of c. 0.7m.

Across the site four corn-drying kilns, four possible house structures and a possible sunken house were identified. The latter had surface dimensions of 8.27m in length with the bowl of the feature having a diameter of 3.64m with a maximum depth of 1.48m. Numerous post-holes were noted running around the base of the feature, suggesting a roughly square wooden split plank sub-structure for the feature.

A number of cremation pits and two possible pyres were identified along with a charcoal-rich pit, metalworking pits and numerous other pits, post- and stake-holes. Finds retrieved from the site include a lozenge-shaped and hollow-based flint arrowheads, a portion of lignite bracelet, copper pins, rotary quernstones, a stone spindle-whorl and numerous ferrous artefacts which suggest both smelting and smithing.

At A026/262 were two charcoal-rich pits and A026/256, 257, 261, 263 and 264 were all non-archaeological.

It is recommended that the remainder of the enclosures A026/258–60 outside the CPO be entered into the RMP for County Tipperary. Considering its aspect it is likely that the southern bank of the Kilmastulla River in Kilnacranna has similar-type features awaiting discovery.