2008:1097 - 35 Tower Hill, Borrisokane, Tipperary

In September 2008 North Tipperary County Council was upgrading council houses at the Tower Hill housing estate in Borrisokane. During construction works for a soak pit at No. 35, human skeletal remains were uncovered. An Garda Síochána was subsequently informed and the site was visited by State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy and osteoarchaeologist Laureen Buckley. The skeletal remains were deemed to be over 100 years old and therefore archaeological in nature. Aegis Archaeology Ltd was contacted to write an archaeological post-damage impact assessment on the site for the client.
The soak pit measured 4.8m north-west/south-east by 2.5m, and averaged 1.75m in depth. A preliminary examination of the pit revealed that up to nine burials were truncated by the digging of the pit. The spoil heaps that surround the site contained a large amount of human remains. An initial assessment of the skeletal remains by the writer indicates that they are post-medieval in date. Cartographic evidence indicates that a fever hospital was located to the east of the site in the 19th century, and it is possible that these skeletons relate to that site. In early 2009 any remains that are at immediate risk will be excavated and removed, the sections of the pit will be recorded and the spoil heaps will be sieved for the retrieval of skeletal remains. A full report will be included in the 2009 bulletin.