2024:482 - Bishopscourt, Waterford

Test excavations were carried out at a site located at Bishopscourt, Ballygunner, Co. Waterford. The site lies southeast of Waterford city, in the southeast portion of Ballygunner. The southern portion of the site is developed, and the northern portion is grassed but overgrown and uneven.
The proposed testing was carried out at the pre-planning stage. An archaeological Impact Assessment was recommended for the site. The site inspection deemed it unsuitable for a geophysical survey because it is overgrown and uneven.
The site contains one monument, fulacht fiadh WA018-088----. This was identified during monitoring carried out under licence 11E0252. The monument is located within the southern portion of the current site. It was partially excavated, with a portion preserved in situ under the existing carpark. Monitoring was also carried out under licence 12E0301 to the north of monument WA018-088----. This was related to a temporary crèche facility. Features of archaeological significance, including a small feature filled with burnt mound material and an area of burnt mound, were identified during this monitoring phase. A pair of parallel ditches corresponding to a field boundary shown on the 1840 map were also identified. There are no protected structures listed in the Waterford City and County Development Plan 2022-2028 or sites listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) located within the site.
The northern portion of the site was archaeologically assessed (test trenching) in December 2024. Eleven test trenches, totalling 539m, were excavated. The remnants of three burnt stone spreads (C3, C4/C6, C5) were identified.
C3 was identified in Trench 2 and Trench 2a. It was a deposit of burnt stone and charcoal. It measured 7m in maximum diameter, appeared very thin (<0.1m), and rested on the natural boulder clay. It was very much ploughed out and was located mid-way down the eastern slope of a north-south ridge with low-lying wet marshy ground at the eastern base.
C4 was identified in Trench 2, Trench 2b and Trench 4. It was the largest of the burnt stone spreads and measured 17m in width (north-south) by 29m in length. The burnt stone was mixed with charcoal, and the mound was visible in the grass, although barely visible. It was located mid-way down the eastern slope of a north-south ridge with low-lying wet marshy ground at the east base. The spread appeared substantial and not ploughed out; it was approximately 0.3m thick and rested on the natural boulder clay. C4 extended eastwards into Trench 4 and was evident as C6 (C4 and C6 were the same feature).
C5 was identified in Trench 4 and Trench 4a. It was a deposit of burnt stone and charcoal measuring 5m in maximum diameter and was very much ploughed out. It was located mid-way down the east slope of a north-south ridge with low-lying wet marshy ground at the east base. The spread appeared thin (<0.1m) and rested on the natural boulder clay.