County: Offaly Site name: DERRINLOUGH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 11E322
Author: Orlaith Egan
Site type: Post-medieval limekiln
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 608285m, N 713555m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.172154, -7.875328
Testing was undertaken across two areas along the N62 Birr to Athlone Realignment Scheme at Derrinlough. The works were carried out between 7 and 9 September 2011 on behalf of Offaly County Council. Approximately 948 linear metres of test trenches were excavated. A single clamp limekiln was identified and fully excavated.
The limekiln consisted of an oval pit/bowl measuring 1.8m north–south x 1.18m x 0.45m deep and was partially encircled by a shallow trench with possible flues in the east-south-east and the west. The pit/bowl of the kiln was mainly filled with a mid-grey-brown, gritty mortar limestone deposit with a compact gritty grey residue on the base and sides. The shallow trench encircling the pit/bowl measured 0.22–0.26m in width x 0.05m in depth and had evidence of in situ burning. It was filled with charcoal-rich silty clay with a high fibrous humic content likely to be the remnants of a sod wall of the kiln.
The limekiln cut an irregular-shaped pit measuring 1.79m x 1.67m x 0.5m. It appears that the earlier irregular-shaped pit was backfilled in the eastern side of the pit, while the western side of the pit was remodelled and reused for the bowl of the limekiln.
Post-medieval pottery was found at the surface of the kiln.
National Roads Authority, Westmeath NRDO, Culleenbeg, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath
