2007:1707 - Tyone, Nenagh, Tipperary

Test excavation took place in the northern vicinity of a medieval Augustinian abbey in Tyone in the southern outskirts of Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, from 29 August to 3 September 2007. The layout of the four trenches opened was determined by anomalies identified in two phases of geophysical survey. Each trench contained archaeological features consisting of earthen boundary ditches, burnt areas and pits. These features underline the results of the geophysical survey and suggest intensive habitation at the site in two historical phases.
The first phase was represented by a univallate enclosure, most likely the remains of an early medieval ringfort. A fragment of an iron knife was retrieved from the vicinity of this monument. A smaller enclosure, incorporated within the high or late medieval boundary of the ‘abbey field’, was identified through geophysical survey some 50m to the north. This monument, though not included in the testing programme, probably dates to the same general period as the univallate enclosure.
The second phase saw the construction of a series of earthen boundary banks and ditches enclosing the ‘abbey field’ with traces of regularly laid-out internal units. The enclosure consisted of three parallel ditches identified within two of the testing trenches. The middle ditch was sectioned and turned out to be 3.6m wide and 1.4m deep, containing three silty sand deposits with frequent inclusions of small angular cobbles and pebbles and few fragments of animal bone. The section of these deposits suggested infilling from both sides of the ditch. The inner and outer ditches were narrower and ran at a similar distance of c. 3m from the middle ditch. The similar consistency of the upper deposits and regular layout of these defensive features suggested contemporary use, probably in the high or late medieval period.