Ring-ditch

The National Monuments Service's description

In reclaimed pasture. Not marked on OSi 6-inch maps. Bronze age concentric curvilinear ditches (TR/2/16/2a) excavated 5m north-east of the ditched enclosure (LI049-059002-) and ditched enclosure (LI049-059002-) excavated in 1986 by Eoin Grogan on the Bórd Gáis Éireann Curraleigh West-Limerick gas pipeline (Gowen 1988, 78-9). The results of this excavation were summarised as following; ‘This lies 5m north-east of the enclosure ditch (LI049-059002-). The features revealed were two discontinuous and partly conjoined, concentric ditches describing roughly half a circle 6.50m in diameter. The outer ditch was completely exposed and made up an arc representing about one quarter of a circle 6m in external diameter and was 6m long, 80cm wide and 24-30cm deep. The fill yielded rare, tiny flecks of cremated bone. The surviving stratigraphy indicated that the features had been truncated by agricultural activity.
The main body of the inner ditch lay c. 10cm inside the outer ditch, but they were effectively conjoined. While the eastern terminal of the ditch had been removed by the trenching, it represented roughly one third of a circle 6m in external diameter. It was 70-80cm wide and 23cm deep. The fill yielded a small quantity of cremated bone. Following the curve of the inner ditch and immediately east of it was a pit 1.50m x 1.20m x 15cm. Its two layers of fill yielded small quantities of cremated bone It was not possible to identify any of the burnt bone as either human or animal. Two small sherds representing two different pots were recovered from the inner ditch fill. The similarity in layout and fill of these features indicates a possible association between the two sites'(Grogan 1987, 25). No surface remains visible on Digital Globe orthoimage taken between 2011-13 or on Google Earth orthoimages.

See attached location map and plan taken from Gowen 1988, 73, 79, 80

Compiled by: Fiona Rooney

Date of upload: 27 September 2021

References

Gowen, M. 1988 Three Irish gas pipelines: new archaeological evidence in Munster. Bray. Wordwell.

Grogan, E. 1987 Duntryleague (BGE) Bronze Age ring ditch (?), with curvilinear ditch. In C. Cotter (ed.) Excavations 1986: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 25, No. 45. Dublin. Organisation of Irish Archaeologists.