County: Wexford Site name: Medophall 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E004263
Author: Bruce Sutton, for TVAS (Ireland) Ltd, Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare. Wexford
Site type: Temporary metalworking site
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 708991m, N 651512m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.603924, -6.390917
Medophall 1 was located on the proposed M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy scheme. The site was recorded in a large field which gently sloped from north-east to south-west.
The site of Medophall 1 consisted of a J-shaped slot-trench and two associated pits. The slot-trench, which measured a total length of 13m, extended from south-west to north-east for 6.5m, curved south-eastwards for 4m and continued south-west for another 2.5m. The U-shaped profile of this slot-trench contained a single fill, which was soft black silt. Two shallow subcircular pits were identified within the internal area of the slot-trench. The larger of the pits measured 0.73m by 0.9m and was 0.05m deep. The smaller of the pits lay approximately 1.5m to the east of the first pit, measured 0.53m by 0.4m and was 0.04m deep. All three features contained frequent charcoal and slag inclusions. The site possibly represents the remains of a temporary metalworking site using a forge raised off the ground. None of the features exhibited any signs of in situ burning. The majority of features on this site were truncated by agricultural activity and field boundaries.
