County: Kerry Site name: RATTOO
Sites and Monuments Record No.: KE009:056 Licence number: C113; E4331
Author: Connie Kelleher
Site type: Round tower—monitoring
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 487815m, N 633635m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.442658, -9.650170
Monitoring was carried out by the National Monuments Service in March 2011 during the digging of post-holes by the Office of Public Works for the erection of a safety fence within the ecclesiastical site and immediately adjacent to the round tower. A series of thirteen holes were hand-dug to take upright cement fencing posts.
Nothing of archaeological significance was encountered during the course of the work, apart from some fragments of metal that proved to be modern. The soil was a very rich brown earth and was loosely compact, indicative of ploughing activity in the area in the past. On average the fence post-holes measured c. 0.45m in width, while the depth ranged from 0.3m to 0.5m. One post-hole that was opened adjacent to the northern wall immediately outside the tower revealed the edge of the footings of the wall as well as signs of disturbance in the past. Fragments of mortared and unmortared stone were identified within the opening, as was silty, brownish-grey clay at the base. A thin layer of charcoal was also evident on top of the clay, but this was so slight that it did not present a viable sample for dating. Nothing else of cultural significance was identified during the course of the works.
District Archaeologist, National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
