2009:433 - CHURCHTOWN, Kerry

Six phases of development works, each with individual planning permission, are planned for the demesne of Churchtown House, Beaufort. One testing licence was issued to cover all phases. Phases 1 and 2 were tested in 2008 (Excavations 2008, No. 598); the licence was reactivated in July 2009 and the following summary relates to Phase 3.
It is intended to construct 24 dwellings with associated services on the third hole at Beaufort Golf Club, Churchtown. As part of the planning application it was requested that pre-development testing be undertaken. A strategy of ^limited testing’ was agreed, as the proposed development site was an active golf hole and it was important to keep the hole playable during peak season. This strategy was allowed on condition that all topsoil removal would also be monitored in advance of any construction works.
The proposed development site is part of an 18hole golf-course on the extensive estate of Churchtown House, which is surrounded by farmland. The site is elongated in plan and c. 350m by 120m in extent and includes tee boxes, a fairway and bunkers associated with the third hole. The only field boundary is along the southern side, which is composed of a drainage ditch, low bank and an extensive shelter belt of various types of tall trees.
During the first phase of testing on the demesne in mid-December 2008, the remains of six fulachta fiadh were recorded. This area is c. 150m south of the current site and in no danger for current works.
During the second phase of testing, in early January 2009, the remains of one fulacht fiadh were recorded; this feature is c. 0.5km to the south-west and in no danger form current works.
Nine test-trenches were excavated by a mechanical excavator with a grading bucket in late July 2009; two trenches included four offsets. The main trenches were located around the perimeter because of the strategy of ^limited testing’ and measured 1.5–2m wide, 15–100m long and 0.15–1m deep.
The remains of a fulacht fiadh were recorded immediately below the sod layer at the northern end of the first offset in Trench 1. The feature was composed of charcoal-rich black silt with shattered stones. Its extent could not be established due to the limited nature of the testing; however, its presence in the trench is undoubted. The feature had been disturbed in at least one section on the south side by a modern trench filled with pea-gravel; this trench is also visible across the fairway. Golf-course features lie immediately to the north-east and it is likely that work in this area has disturbed the archaeological remains. There is also a young fir tree just to the north of the visible remains and it is likely to be growing through the remains of the mound.
No further potential archaeological remains were recorded during Phase 3 testing.