2010:373 - Bray, Valentia Island, Kerry

Met Éireann intend to buy a 65-acre site on Valentia Island, Co. Kerry, with a view to applying to Kerry County Council to construct an environmental monitoring station to measure background pollution levels for Europe. As the proposed development site was situated in a rich archaeological landscape, Met Éireann wished to include an archaeological impact assessment with the planning application. Barrow Archaeological Services were contracted to undertake the AIA and, following discussions with representatives from Met Éireann, the Kerry county archaeologist and senior archaeologists with the National Monuments Section of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, an assessment with testing was undertaken between October 2009 and August 2010.
There are no known monuments within the proposed development site; however, the entire headland, including the proposed development site, is encompassed in a zone of archaeological potential, KE087–067, listed as an archaeological complex. Two trackways, KE078–024 and KE087–088, are recorded c. 250m west and c. 250 south-west of the site and are in no danger from the proposed works. These features are visible in cutaway sections of peat and have yielded Iron Age radiocarbon dates of 1720±80 bp and 2020±80 bp (O’Sullivan and Sheehan 1996, after Mitchell 1989).
Abutting the zone of archaeological potential for trackway KE078–024 are ecclesiastical remains, KE078–005–00508. Some of these features are visible in the distance from the site; however, there is c. 350m between the east side of the site and these features, with an additional 50–70m to the proposed location of the instruments enclosure. This extensive distance together with the townland boundary means that the archaeological remains at KE078–005 are in no danger physically or visually from the proposed works. There is a potential archaeological site, now recorded as KE087–098, not originally included in the Sites and Monuments Record in 1997, located c. 40m south of the site boundary and in no danger physically from proposed works.
After Mitchell (1989) a number of prehistoric pre-bog walls and features were recorded, some of which are within the proposed development site. An overlay of Mitchell’s map on the proposed development site shows that two of the shorter possible Late Bronze Age walls would be truncated by the proposed new access road. A third wall, known as St Brendan’s Wall, is extensive and clearly visible. It is aligned north-west/south-east and curves gently northward, composed of roughly hewn slate boulders, many set on edge, some up to 1.5m long, some barely visible in low relief, others clearly visible with the stone on edge and protruding through peat and heathers. The feature ends with a slight bend and a cluster of stones, possibly a hut site, roughly circular in plan and c. 5–5.5m in diameter. The wall terminates c. 100m south of high cliffs. It is visible for approximately 250m in length and will not be disturbed as a result of proposed works as the instruments enclosure is to be constructed 25m to the south-west. Peat from this wall produced a Late Bronze Age radiocarbon date of 2680 ± 90BP (ibid.)
There will be a visual impact on these LBA features as a result of the Environmental Monitoring Station; however, Met Éireann intends to use materials that will help to lessen this negative visual impact on the natural and archaeological landscape.
Thirty-four trenches were excavated by mechanical excavator with a grading bucket and included sixteen on the new access road, eleven on the line of the instruments enclosure and seven within it. Generally the trenches were 30m long with intervals of 15m, they were 2m wide and varied from 0.2–1m deep depending on whether or not the peat had been cut away.
One of the possible LBA walls recorded by Mitchell (1989) was mapped in the area of Trench 6. However, an access track has been constructed in this area and no evidence of an early wall was visible in Trenches 6 or 7. It is likely that all or part of this wall was destroyed as a result of the construction of the existing track.
Trench 13 was not fully excavated, as a stone row mapped by Mitchel (1989) was clearly visible at the interval between Trenches 13 and 14. A short line of large, angular slate boulders extending east–west was visible aboveground. This line curves and two short rows of similar-type boulders extend beyond the site boundary to the south-east. With a view to avoiding disturbance to this potential archaeological feature, four additional short trenches were excavated in order to locate an alternative route for the access road. Trenches 13a–d were excavated north-west of Trenches 12 and 13. The stone row was visible in these trenches and continued in a south-westerly direction. As a result, testing for an alternative route was abandoned in this area as the access road would connect with the instruments enclosure too close to the mast and so reduce the clean air catchment area. Therefore, in order for the access road to continue on the original route an area of approximately 15m by 15m should be scientifically excavated in order to record the potential archaeological features as mapped by Mitchell (1989) and to achieve a radiocarbon date for these walls.
It is also at this interval, between Trenches 13 and 14, that a previously unrecorded potential archaeological wall was recorded. A line of low-lying slate boulders, partly covered in blanket bog, some on edge, others lying flat, were visible in a line c. 40m long and aligned north–south. The line then turned in a rounded angle to the east and is visible for a further 53m. It is at this point that the stone row crossed the line of the proposed instruments enclosure.
Trench 27 commenced immediately north-east of the new stone row while Trench 28 was reduced in length also to avoid it. It has been discussed with the county archaeologist that the instruments enclosure will be constructed across this new stone row but that all works must be monitored to ensure that the stones are not disturbed and that all posts will be situated to protect the potential archaeological features. The fence itself will overlie the stone row, but not damage it.
Finally Trench 29 was the last trench to be excavated on the line of the instruments enclosure. It produced an area of loose, medium-sized flat stones, a feature not recorded in any other trench, that is likely to be archaeological in nature and placed there in order to access a very wet area of ground.
The only other potential archaeological features just visible aboveground are ten large slate boulders, mostly on edge, located 10–15m north-west of the bend in the new stone row located during testing. The stones are visible over a distance of approximately 25m and generally aligned north-east/south-west. They don’t appear to form a coherent structure but may be associated. They are visible in the cut-away sections of bog c. 0.2m below the level of uncut peat.
References
Mitchell, G.F. 1989 Man and the environment in Valencia Island. Dublin.
O’Sullivan, A. and Sheehan, J. 1996 The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry. Cork.