County: Wexford Site name: Bessmount 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E004220
Author: Yvonne Whitty, for TVAS (Ireland) Ltd, Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare.
Site type: Possible metalworking site
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 693897m, N 641357m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.515496, -6.616564
Bessmount 1 was located on the proposed M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy scheme. The site was situated in a level rectangular tilled field, which gently slopes down to the east and west.
Excavations at Bessmount 1 revealed a hearth and a small area of in situ burning.
The hearth was located at the western end of the site and was north to south aligned. The cut had a concave base and moderate break of slope on all sides except the south, where it was imperceptible. The feature was 1.67m long, 1m wide and 0.24m deep and contained two fills: a primary fill of moderately compacted yellowish clayey sand, and a secondary fill of red/brown burnt clay.
An area of in situ burning consisted of a moderately compact, black charcoal-rich layer. This deposit was 1.4m long, 0.92m wide and 0.02m deep. A debris layer, possibly associated with the area of in situ burning, comprised a very shallow, moderately compact, mid-grey/brown silty clay which contained moderately sized charcoal and heat-affected clay. This deposit was 0.8m long, 0.65m wide and 0.02m deep. Heat-affected natural was also recorded and consisted of a compact, red/brown medium sand with no inclusions.
Twenty-one post-medieval finds and 196g of slag were recovered from the topsoil.
