2025:043 - Glencarrick Estate, Grange and Scart, Roscrea, Tipperary

Monitoring of groundworks associated with a 47-unit social housing development identified an area of archaeological potential which was subsequently excavated under the same licence. Initial monitoring works identified two features of archaeological potential in the south-eastern area of the site. One of the features appeared to be a pit or trough with frequent inclusions of heat-shattered stone, adjacent to this pit was a patch of grey silt with degraded or heat-shattered sandstone inclusions.

Upon initial excavation works it was clear that the second potential feature (patch of grey silt) was a shallow pocket of disturbed material directly overlying sandstone bedrock and was deemed non-archaeological in nature.

The pit or trough was overlain by topsoil, 0.2m thick and cut into natural subsoil which, in the vicinity of the archaeological feature, was firm, pale yellowish-orange sandy clay, overlying sandstone bedrock.

The pit or trough had an irregular oval shape, orientated roughly north to south, and was 2.1m long, 1.7m wide and just 0.2m deep. The sides of the feature at the north-east and east were relatively steep, whilst elsewhere they were concave and gently sloping. The northern side was slightly stepped, this appeared to be the result of slipping of the clay sides of the feature rather than an original characteristic. There was a gradual break of slope to a flat base with sandstone bedrock present at the west. The single fill was loosely compacted dark grey to black sandy silt with frequent inclusions of heat-shattered sandstone and moderately-occurring charcoal pieces. This fill is consistent with burnt mound material and the feature is therefore likely to represent the remains of a fulacht fia trough. It was clear that the area has been severely truncated and it is possible that the trough was originally deeper, with the upper part being removed, along with its associated mound.

Later monitoring elsewhere on the site found two small pockets of burnt mound material (heat-shattered stone and charcoal-rich soil) mixed within the modern overburden. These deposits were clearly disturbed and definitively ex situ. It is likely that this material represents the redeposited remains of a burnt stone mound.

Whilst currently undated, the excavated feature is characteristically consistent with the truncated remains of a trough filled with burnt mound material and likely to be Bronze Age in date.