County: Kilkenny Site name: Ballintee
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 10E0035
Author: Maurice F. Hurley, 6 Clarence Court, St Luke’s, Cork.
Site type: Testing
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 648897m, N 637482m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.486563, -7.280048
Testing was undertaken as part of a request for further information prior to the development of a new house in Ballintee, Dunnamaggin, Co. Kilkenny. The proposed site lay adjacent to KK031–011, a ringfort; no component of the proposal lay within 40m of the monument and the proposed dwelling was 70m from the monument at the nearest point.
Ten test-trenches were excavated on the proposed driveway, effluent treatment plant and foundations of the house site. Overall, the results of the testing indicated that the dwelling-house and entrance driveway as proposed would not have any impact on any potential archaeological resource of the site.
One soil anomaly became apparent in Trench 5 (area of proposed effluent treatment plant) and this was cleaned by hand and excavated to reveal a steep-sided U-shaped trench, 0.3m wide, cut into the subsoil/clay to a depth of 0.28m. The shallow trench appeared to curve. The trench was considered to be a potential archaeological feature. It was decided to extend Trench 5 to the north in order to further investigate the potential feature. Accordingly an area 3.5m north–south x 3m was cleaned of topsoil to a depth of 0.3m. The curving trench continued for a further 0.8m but could not be identified beyond that point. An oval area of burning became apparent to the north-east. This area of burning was located at 7.5m (midpoint) from the laneway/fence (east) and 18m from the southern fence (existing dwelling). The burning lay at a distance of 3m north-east of the shallow curving trench. The area of burning was 1m north–south by 1.6m.
The south-west corner where the effluent treatment area was proposed was considered to be archaeologically sensitive due to the presence of possible archaeological features within an area of c. 10m from the eastern boundary and 18m from the southern boundary. It was suggested that the effluent treatment plant (area) be relocated elsewhere on the site. It was recommended that a modification of the proposal be undertaken by the applicant proposing a relocation of the effluent treatment plant (area). This was prepared and a new location for the effluent treatment area proposed. Site foundations were monitored in October 2010 and nothing of an archaeological nature was found.
