County: Wexford Site name: Moyne Middle 2
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: E004207
Author: Yvonne Whitty, for TVAS (Ireland) Ltd, Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare.
Site type: Burnt-stone spreads, wood-lined trough and pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 696482m, N 642975m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.529580, -6.578014
Moyne Middle 2 was located on the proposed M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy scheme. The site was recorded in grassy pasture and comprised three burnt-stone mounds with associated pits and troughs.
A deposit of burnt stone, located adjacent to a stream, measured 19.5m by 10m and had a maximum depth of 0.25m. A timber-lined rectangular trough measuring 1.94m by 1.42m by 0.25m deep was uncovered beneath this dark-grey silty sandy deposit of heat-affected stony material. The timbers found in the trough were well preserved in the waterlogged conditions caused by the proximity of the stream as well as a peaty upper layer that sealed the timbers in an anaerobic environment.
A shallow circular pit, approximately 1m in diameter, was also identified beneath the burnt-stone mound, 0.2m east of the timber-lined trough.
At the highest point of the site, a burnt-stone deposit measuring 11m by 8.5m, consisted of loose dark-grey silty sand, which contained a high quantity of heat-shattered stone and charcoal, reaching a maximum depth of 0.3m. No other features were associated with this spread.
A third deposit of burnt stone, which measured 14.5m by 6.5m and was 0.28m deep, was identified adjacent to the stream to the north-west of the site. The burnt-stone deposit consisted of light-grey sandy silt with dark-brown mottling and a high quantity of heat-affected stone. Two pits with an average diameter of 1m and depth of 0.35m were identified beneath this deposit and contained similar burnt-stone material.
