2013:268 - MOYNE: 13LIS-045 Killoran, Tipperary

Following an assessment of the proposed impact of an extension to the Tailings Management Facility (TMF) in Lisheen Mine, 16 archaeological sightings were recorded in June 2013 (see 13E059). A programme of excavation was carried out between July and September 2013 which resulted in the excavation of these 16 sites and a further 28 sites which were identified during the course of excavation.

This site was located in the north-west corner of the development area and consisted of a mound of heat-shattered and burnt stone within a matrix of blackened soil which overlay a small probable trough, and a semi-circular stone alignment/structure.

No information on the burnt mound was available from the report. The primary feature identified on the site was a sub-rectangular trough feature measuring 3.7m long, 1.5-1.9m wide, and varying from 0.31m-0.45m in depth. The trough was aligned east-west, and had some stone packing at the western end of the trough, although this did not appear to have been heat-affected. A roughly D-shaped structure consisting of rounded and sub-rounded sandstones set onto the natural subsoil was identified at the western end of the trough, measuring 1.78m long and between 1-1.75m wide. The precise function is unclear. It is possible that the stone structure provided shelter for a hearth used to heat stones for heating water in the trough, or was the fragmentary remains of a trough that was constructed of stone walling directly on the subsoil, the eastern side of which was removed by the construction of the trough described above.

A number of small, mainly alder stakes were recorded.

Preliminary dates from samples taken from a stake returned a date of 1501-1324 BC (UBA 24066), and the primary fill of the trough 1620-1528 BC (UBA 25807).

This site was fully resolved and no further archaeological mitigation is required.