2021:241 - Firoda Upper, Castlecomer, Kilkenny

Unlicensed archaeological monitoring of groundworks associated with the construction of a section of forestry road in Firoda Upper townland, situated to the north-west of Castlecomer, in Co. Kilkenny, was carried out on 9 and 10 June 2021.

Groundworks were undertaken by Coillte, under Forest Road Licence CN85867, which required all excavation and ground disturbance work in proximity of enclosure KK005-018, to be subject to archaeological monitoring.

The monitored work comprised the excavation of a 200m section of new forestry road, required for forest harvesting, in closest proximity of enclosure KK005-018. The monitored section of forest road, part of a wider road development totalling 770m, traversing Firoda Upper and Byrnesgrove townlands, was excavated from 75m south of enclosure KK005-018.

Topsoil removal was carried out by machine using a flat grading bucket; a toothed bucket was used when necessary to remove trees.

The excavated forest road measured c.7m in width, and excavations ranged from c.0.3–0.7m in depth, extending through topsoil and exposing natural boulder clay. The natural geology was undulating and had been heavily disturbed by forestry plantation with numerous tree boles. The tracks of previous machinery access were visible as parallel linear depressions, backfilled with brush added as levelling material where the tracks sank in areas of softer ground. A linear drain ran south-west/north-east across the route of the new forest road, and comprised a machine-cut trench into the natural subsoil. An irregular spread of stone at the eastern end of the stripped route was investigated and found to be modern, likely related to an earlier phase of forest road construction.

No archaeological finds, features or deposits were found during monitoring.

Unit 39a, Hebron Business Park, Hebron Road, Kilkenny