2011:328 - LISLOOSE, Kerry

Seventy test trenches, T1–T70, were excavated across a proposed development site as part of a wider impact assessment report with regard to a planning application. The site, comprising a total of nine fields or 9.34ha of mixed pasture, is c. 1.5km north of Tralee town centre in the townland of Lisloose on the lower south-western limits of the Stacks Mountains at OD 40m. The trenches were excavated by a mechanical digger using a 1m-wide flat ditching bucket. There is a single denuded monument (KE029-080) within the site, classified as an enclosure.
Eight of the trenches, T48–T55, were excavated radially from the denuded limits of the monument. All revealed an external ditch, confirming that the site is a ringfort. The ditch ranged in width from 1.7m (T50) to 2.4m (T51), and averaged 2m. The ditch was not sectioned, but surface hand-cleaning of the fill revealed moderately compact dark greyish-brown silty clay with occasional small to medium-sized subangular stones and occasional charcoal flecks.
Two previously unrecorded areas of archaeological significance were revealed during testing, designated as Areas 1 and 2.
In Area 1 the coherent extent of a fulacht fiadh or burnt mound, four pits, two post-holes and three possible pits were recorded in trenches T27, T28, T30, T30A, T31 and T31A. Targeted investigative slots were excavated through some of the pits, while the post-holes were half-sectioned.
A large fulacht fiadh was initially exposed in Trenches 30 and 31. Subsequently, extension Trenches 30a and 31a were opened up to determine the limits of the monument, ultimately revealing maximum dimensions of 21m (north–south) by 20m and a reduced above-ground register of 0.3m at its centre. The fulacht comprises typical deposits of frequent heat-shattered stones (sandstone) in a charcoal-enriched, dark blackish-brown, clayey silt matrix. It would appear that much of the mound has been removed and levelled by agricultural practices in the past.
In Area 2 an 18th/19th-century brick clamp was exposed in Trench 64. Subsequently, an extension Trench 64a was opened to determine the full extent of the feature, revealing maximum dimensions of 9.2m (east–west) by 8.1m. The brick clamp is characterised by an area of intense burning of the subsoil, with much charcoal and several broken brick fragments. The bricks are quite poorly fired and the clay used in their manufacture was most likely sourced from the underlying clay subsoil. Several of the trenches in proximity to Area 2 contained red brick fragments. Two extra trenches (Trenches 65a and 66a) were opened to investigate concentrations of red brick there but no further brick clamps were encountered. All of the loose red brick fragments encountered spread through the field appear to be ‘wasters’ that were dumped away from the brick clamp.

Laurence Dunne Archaeology, 3 Lios Na Lohart, Ballyvelly, Tralee, Co. Kerry