County: Kilkenny Site name: Loughmacask
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 10E0226
Author: Dave Bayley, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120b Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 649292m, N 656884m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.660899, -7.271348
Testing was undertaken in order to study the impact on the potential archaeological resource within the footprint of a proposed residential development at Loughmacask, c. 1.5km north-west of the centre of Kilkenny city. It followed an EIA report, and a subsequent geophysical survey carried out by Target Geophysics. Loughmacask can be translated as the ‘Lake of MacCask’. Further testing was carried out adjacent to this under licence 10E0225 (see No. 428 below).
The overall testing programme involved the excavation of 39 trenches across the proposed development area. A total of 22 of these trenches were excavated specifically to investigate potential archaeological features identified by the geophysical survey.
Testing did not reveal any archaeological features or deposits. However, it was thought possible that previously unrecorded subsurface archaeological remains might be present within the proposed development area. As a result, it was recommended that all ground disturbance works associated with the proposed development be monitored.
Due to the presence of a potato crop at the location of the proposed temporary well and associated pipeline, it was not possible to excavate test-trenches at this location. The well and pipeline are located c. 60m north-west of the remains of ringfort KK019–006. Although the proposed infrastructure will not directly impact on the site, it was thought possible that ground disturbance associated with the construction of the well may impact on associated remains located beneath the existing ground level. It was therefore recommended that testing be carried out as originally proposed at the site of the temporary well and pipeline.
