County: Tipperary Site name: Boola/Ballyslea
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E003902
Author: Liam Ó Séaghdha, for Valerie J. Keeley Ltd, Brehon House, Kilkenny Road, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny.
Site type: Medieval and post-medieval
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 610678m, N 684474m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.911008, -7.841245
This site was identified during testing along the route of the proposed N7 Castletown–Nenagh road improvement scheme. Excavation was carried out in December 2007/January 2008.
Three areas were excavated on either side of the stone boundary fence between the townlands of Boola and Ballyslea.
Area 1
Near the northern limit of this area was a rectangular pit with rounded corners, measuring 1.52m by 1.24m. The base was 0.13m in the southern half of the pit, dropping sharply to 0.25m deep in the northern half.
An oval pit lay c. 1.7m to the east, measuring 0.48m by 0.31m by 0.1m deep. To the west was an oblong pit, measuring 0.51m by 0.28m by 0.22m deep. In the north-west edge of the site were three sub-oval pits/post-holes in very close proximity to each other. The central of these three pits was 1.01m by 0.76m by 0.4m deep and was flanked by two circular stake-holes, 0.11m in diameter by 0.14m deep. Both stake-holes were similar in profile, with vertical sides and a flat base.
Area 2
A circular pit containing charcoal-rich silt, 0.97m in diameter by 0.21m deep, lay in the centre of Area 2. It had a regular profile and a large flat stone served as a base. A similar oval pit, 0.71m by 0.62m by 0.14m, was discovered c. 2.7m to the south-west, also with a large stone placed as a base. An isolated hearth was uncovered further to the south-west, measuring 1.92m by 0.98m by 0.12m. In the east of the cutting, a post-medieval field boundary ditch, 1.15m in width by 0.52m deep, ran north-west/south-east along the length of the site, roughly parallel with the present stone wall townland boundary.
Area 3
The archaeological features were concentrated on level ground overlooking a stream to the east. In the south-east of the site was a sub-oval pit measuring 0.68m long by 0.4m by 0.1m deep. Two stake-holes were located on either side of this pit, the largest was 0.1 in diameter by 0.17m deep. To the west was a subcircular stake-hole, 0.2m by 0.17m by 0.05m deep. A small, disc-shaped stone gaming piece was found on the surface near this feature. Four small oval pits lay scattered to the west of the cutting.
Five smelting pits were excavated. One was 0.51m by 0.38m by 0.17m, with a fill of loose dark clayey silt with frequent charcoal and including several pieces of slag. Another, 2.5m to the north-west was 0.89m by 0.49m by 0.18m deep and contained similar fills, also including fragments of slag. A third, to the south-west, was a small circular smelting pit, measuring 0.4m in diameter by 0.06 deep. The remaining two abutted each other: one was 0.27m in diameter by 0.07m deep and the other was 0.25m in diameter by 0.08m deep.
