County: Wexford Site name: Ballinclay 2
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E004189
Author: Bruce Sutton, for TVAS (Ireland) Ltd, Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare.
Site type: Burnt-stone mound, troughs and pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 710544m, N 654227m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.628007, -6.367097
Ballinclay 2 was located on the proposed M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy scheme. This site was situated in grassland sloping down from north to south. Natural outcrops of bedrock were visible across the slope of the field.
A burnt-stone mound measuring 20.9m by 10m dominated the site and consisted of compact dark-grey silty sand which contained a high quantity of heat-shattered stone and charcoal. Most of the other features on-site were sealed beneath the mound.
The most substantial feature on the site was a large trough, which measured 2.3m by 1.5m and was 0.35m deep. Seven stake-holes were identified at the two northern corners of the base of this trough.
The large trough had two smaller rectangular features cutting into its eastern and northern sides. At the east of, and probably contemporary with, the main trough was a subrectangular feature, possibly another trough or a sunken working area allowing access to the main trough. This feature measured 1.9m by 0.8m and was filled with burnt-stone material with a large stone at the base.
On the northern side was a rectangular trough that appeared to truncate the main trough, measuring 1.4m by 0.8m and 0.4m deep with vertical sides and a flat base. Eight post-holes and 67 stake-holes were found at the base and around the northern edges of this feature and, although no particular pattern was evident, they perhaps represent the location of one or more windbreaks or structures such as racks.
Other features beneath the burnt-stone mound were a pit, post-holes and four further troughs, two that contained possible remnants of stone lining and one that had an arc of stake-holes surrounding its northern side.
Features lying outside the spread of stone were a hearth, a pit, a post-hole and a possible trough. The oval-shaped hearth, measuring 1.4m by 0.83m, had oxidised clay at its base with a charcoal-rich basal fill. The possible trough extended beyond the limit of excavation to the north-east, suggesting further related features might be located nearby. The burnt-stone mound was truncated by a modern field drain.
