2007:1710 - Park 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. Park 1, Area 4.2, was tested under licence E3378 (see No. 1626 above) in 2007.
The earliest phase of activity appeared to be represented by a concentration of pits, post- and stake-holes in the western area of the site. A cluster of nine stake-holes was probably the remnants of a small structure, c. 5m in diameter (Structure 1). A pit and a hearth were located adjacent to the house and these features contained bone and pottery fragments within their fills.
A closely knit concentration of twelve stake-holes and one post-hole was located c. 20m west of Structure 1. The function of this group of features was unclear. A further 10m to the north-west there was a line of five post-holes that may have been part of a fence. A second fence-like structure was found c. 20m to the south. This comprised five stake-holes. Other features found in this part of the site included twelve pits, seven post-holes and a hearth. The function of these features is unclear. In the far western extent of the site four oval cremation pits were excavated; on average these were 0.5m long, 0.38m wide and 0.15m deep.
A later phase of activity was associated with four possible kilns. A keyhole-shaped kiln was excavated in the western part of the site. This comprised a flue and two chambers and these revealed evidence of intense burning. A total of four post-holes and two stake-holes were excavated to the west of the kiln. They were located near the southern limit of the excavation and it is possible that there were further related post-holes beyond the site boundary that may have been associated with activity at the kiln.
Another kiln was located c. 95m west of the eastern limit of excavation. It was dumbbell-shaped and fragments of rotary querns appeared to have been used as part of the stone lining. A third kiln was found just 90m further west. It was another example of a keyhole-shaped kiln and it was stone-lined and comprised two chambers and a flue. The fourth kiln found at this site was the remains of a possible kiln that was partly destroyed by a later ditch.
There was limited evidence for metalworking at this site, with slag found in ditches, pits and in a hearth. These features were located across the site and not confined to a single area.
Several ditches ran across the site, many interpreted as modern field boundaries. In addition, a total of 47 furrows were excavated. This is evidence that a significant amount of farming activity had taken place here. The medieval evidence also suggests that the site was primarily associated with agriculture; the kilns were probably mainly used for cereal drying and quernstone fragments, and evidence of widespread grain processing was found throughout the deposits on the site. There were eight possible medieval ditches at Park 1; these were possibly associated with medieval enclosures and were probably contemporary with activity at the kilns.