2025:184 - Carrowclogh, Limerick

Archaeological monitoring was carried out on 30 June 2025 in association with topsoil stripping on a c. 0.64-hectare greenfield site at Carrowclogh townland, near Shanagolden, Co. Limerick. The monitored works involved topsoil stripping to the natural subsoil horizon across the area. The site lay in close proximity to a ringfort (LI019-038—-), whose Zone of Notification extended to within approximately 10m of the site boundary.

A 2m × 4m test pit was first excavated in the lowest part of the site to determine the depth of topsoil and the site’s indicative stratigraphy, and to inform a spoil management strategy. Stripping began with a 10m-wide area along the southern boundary of the site, progressing from west to east. Spoil heaps from the initial strip were then moved onto the newly stripped area, and the main phase of stripping commenced, proceeding downhill from north to south and moving westward, with soil being stored along the southern boundary.

In the low-lying central and southern parts of the site, where hill wash had accumulated, the ground level was reduced in places by up to 510mm. Toward the northern boundary, on higher ground, only 20–30mm of topsoil overlay the natural subsoil, with rock sub-cropping evident in some areas. In the central and southern parts of the site—where the majority of infill is proposed—the stratigraphy comprised:

• A loose, dark reddish-brown sandy silt topsoil, overlying
• a loose, mid reddish-brown sandy silt hill wash layer with frequent small, sub-rounded stone inclusions, overlying
•  a natural subsoil consisting of loose, mid yellowish-brown homogeneous sandy gravel with frequent rock sub-cropping.

The site was stripped of both topsoil and hill wash. No anthropogenic features or deposits were observed, with the exception of a small (c. 1m × 1m) area of charcoal-rich topsoil in the central part of the site. This deposit contained modern refuse and was determined to be of recent origin. No archaeological finds, features, or deposits were identified during any of the monitored groundworks.