County: Tipperary Site name: Camlin/Derrymore
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E003744
Author: Colum Hardy, for Valerie J. Keeley Ltd, Brehon House, Kilkenny Road, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny.
Site type: Bronze Age enclosure; corn-drying kilns, round house, cremation
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 613825m, N 685768m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.922563, -7.794399
This site was identified during testing along the route of the proposed N7 Castletown–Nenagh road improvement scheme. Excavation was begun in October 2007 and continued to April 2008. Five areas were stripped of topsoil along a 600m section of a proposed new slip road. Areas 1–3 were resolved during 2007 (Excavations 2007, No. 1600). Areas 4 and 5 were resolved in 2008.
Area 4 measured c. 27.5m by 23m. Two parallel linear ditches c. 1.65m apart, orientated roughly north–south were excavated. The western ditch was 1.5m wide and 0.17m deep and the eastern ditch 1.7m wide and 0.24m deep. A third linear ditch, orientated north-east/south-west, measured 0.75–1m wide and 0.38–0.65m deep. Towards the centre of the ditch was a gap/entrance of 2m, possibly for ease of movement of animals.
Area 5 was located c. 50m to the south of Area 4 and measured c. 170m north–south by 25–30m. One circular house structure was recorded at the southern extent of the site. It measured 5m north–south by 5.2m. It was constructed of seven post-holes around the perimeter with an average diameter of 0.32m and depth of 0.23m. One internal central post-hole measured 0.3m by 0.32 by 0.22m. Two large external post-holes to the east-south-east formed an entrance porch. Three small stake-holes were identified within the interior of the structure suggesting some form of internal division of space and function (e.g. living and sleeping). Towards the back of the structure was a small shallow hearth (0.77m by 0.57m by 0.13m).
Approximately 150 other features, including irregular-sized pits, post-holes and a possible cremation pit, were also investigated in Area 5. The cremation pit measured 0.35m by 0.33m by 0.32m and contained a large amount of burnt bone and charcoal.
A possible rectangular-shaped structure orientated north-east/south-west was identified towards the centre of the site. It measured c. 9m long and c. 3m wide with two/three shallow internal pits. The diameters of the post-holes were 0.2–0.6m with depths of 0.1–0.4m.
Located just to the north of this possible structure were four large pits which contained charcoal and pieces of oxidised clay (0.77m by 0.41m by 0.14m, 0.65m by 0.6m by 0.23m, 1m by 0.95m by 0.2m, 0.83m by 0.56m by 0.27m.). These pits were situated south of a line of four post-holes that may have acted as a screen or windbreak to the pits. The post-holes measured 0.18–0.27m in diameter and 0.13–0.22m deep.
At the northern end of the area a roughly semicircular arc of pits and post-holes measuring c. 7m in diameter may represent the remnants of a structure of which half could survive outside the limit of excavation.
Also excavated were c. 44 stake-holes (0.05–0.13m diameter, c. 0.07–0.24m deep) in two parallel lines. The two rows were c. 0.7–0.75m apart and roughly orientated east–west. The stake-holes possibly formed some type of raised platform. Isolated pits and post-holes were also recorded within the vicinity of the rows, but did not form any structure.
A series of post-medieval boundary ditches orientated roughly east–west were excavated at the southern extent of the site bordering on Camlin 3 (see No. 1102 below, E3580). They were c. 0.9m wide and 0.3m deep.
Finds of prehistoric pottery (western Neolithic tradition) and worked flint, including a small convex scraper, have been recorded from these features.
