County: Kildare Site name: Ballina
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 23E0358
Author: Alan Healy
Site type: Post-medieval ditches and prehistoric features
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 671462m, N 741502m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.418792, -6.924942
A programme of archaeological test-trenching undertaken on 15 and 16 May 2023, at a proposed development site located in the townland of Ballina, Co. Kildare in response to a planning condition from Kildare County Council. Ten test trenches, totalling 451 linear metres, were excavated at the site to determine if previously unrecorded archaeological remains survived within the footprint of the proposed development site.
The topsoil, which had been mostly imported, ranged from 0.2–0.46m in depth and consisted of mid- to dark brown silty clay, this overlays a spread of contaminated building waste (C.26). The underlying natural geology (C.2) varied slightly over the area from a mid- to dark grey marl under a natural peat formation to the north of the area, to a light to mid-brownish grey clayey gravelly sand to the south.
All of the fourteen archaeological features identified were in the western half of test trench five, located to the west of the proposed development area: two post-medieval field boundary ditches, seven post-holes, two stake-holes, two pits and one highly disturbed archaeological spread. Two artefacts, a possible chert scraper and a possible chert core, were recovered.
The location of the identified archaeological remains at the edge of an area of bog/wetland could indicate settlement or temporary camp activity at this site.
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