County: Kilkenny Site name: Ballytarsna
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 12E0445
Author: BRUCE SUTTON TVAS (IRELAND) LTD
Site type: Prehistoric
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 653623m, N 635623m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.469406, -7.210786
Site 20-1, 2, Ballytarsna was discovered during monitoring of topsoil stripping for the Bord Gáis Networks Gas to Great Island scheme (12E0356). Two distinct and unrelated areas were investigated.
Area 20-1 consisted of two post-holes, seven pits and a possible cremation burial, some of which were partially enclosed by a curvilinear ditch. The ditch, which was not well defined, was over 9m long, approximately 1m wide up to 0.3m deep with a concave profile and stone-rich fills. The pits and post-holes tended to have soft charcoal-rich fills reminiscent of cremation burials, but little bone was recovered and none could be identified as human. A radiocarbon determination is pending for one of the pits.
Area 20-2 revealed the remains of a badly truncated prehistoric roundhouse. A semi-circular slot trench represented the surviving portion of a circular wall foundation trench and extrapolation suggests that the roundhouse originally had a diameter of approximately 9m. Internal roof support post-holes were identified and a 0.9m-wide door lay at the south-east. The interior of the house was bisected by a 4m-long line of stake-holes. External pits may have been related to the occupation of the house. A radiocarbon date is pending.
AHISH, BALLINRUAN, CRUSHEEN, CO. CLARE.
