2008:774 - Glenbane West, Limerick

An excavation was carried out in October 2008 on a development site in the Shannon Estuary, Co. Limerick. The site, Site 1, was one of three uncovered during monitoring of topsoil-stripping from August to December 2008. It consisted of a number of pits and troughs located alongside and within a palaeochannel. It lay 0.7km east of Site 2, the site of two cremation pits (see No. 775 below, 08E0910) and east of Site 3, five charcoal production pits (see No. 779 below, 08E0782).
The development site lies within the Shannon Estuary, c. 17km west of Limerick city, and spans the three townlands of Island Mac Téige, Aughinish West and Glenbane West. It comprises sixteen fields in total. The site is owned by Aughinish Alumina Ltd, which currently operates an aluminium plant to the north of the development site. An existing Bauxite Residual Deposit Area (BRDA) is used to store waste from the aluminium extraction process; proposed development plans propose the construction of a second BRDA within the footprint of the site.
Condition 11 of the An Bórd Pleanála grant of planning permission included a request for a geophysical survey and monitoring of all groundworks. The survey (Harrison 2007) uncovered a number of anomalies across the footprint and a subsequent test-excavation was carried out (Excavations 2007, No. 1114, 07E0805). One fulacht fiadh was excavated in spring 2008, in tandem with further testing, monitoring of townland boundary removal and the recording of six sites of cultural heritage (see No. 778 below, 07E0805 ext.) which had been noted in an earlier environmental impact assessment (Clancy and Deery 2004).
The development works proper commenced in August 2008 and all topsoil-stripping and soil movement is currently being monitored. Three sites were uncovered. Site 1 was located in Glenbane West in the eastern edge of the development footprint. It was located at the base of limestone outcrop in glacial till. It was excavated to reveal a palaeochannel which ran north-east/south-westwards for a distance of c. 130m; prior to excavation it was visible as a low-lying marshy area. The channel was c. 30m wide on average. Eight features, comprising three subrectangular-shaped troughs (F6, F9 and F57) and four circular pits (F47, F53, F59 and F65), were located alongside the banks of and within the palaeochannel itself. One shallow cut may have been the remnants of another trough which became denuded with riverine activity. A large spread of heat-shattered stone and charcoal-rich clay extended north-westwards from trough F57 in the south to the opposite bank, where F9, F59 and F65 were located. This spread is likely to represent the remnants of a burnt mound.
Post-excavation is currently under way and the results of the radiocarbon dates and specialist analyses have yet to be concluded.
References
Clancy, P. and Deery, S. 2004 Environmental Impact Statement, Architecture, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Aughinish Alumina, Aughinish, Co. Limerick. Unpublished report, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Harrison, D. 2007 Geophysical Survey 07R0105 Aughinish Alumina, Aughinish, Co. Limerick. Unpublished report, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.