Burnt mound

The National Monuments Service's description

Pre-development testing was carried out by Laurence Dunne (08E0205) 'at a proposed development site, consisting of Phase 1 of a wind farm project. The site is located on a south-facing ridge of the Mullaghareirk Mountains in Dromdeeveen townland, Ballagh, Co. Limerick. Phase 1 comprised seven wind turbines and associated service roads and substation situated in open fields in pasture. A total of fifteen test-trenches were excavated using a mechanical track machine utilising a 2m-wide flat grading bucket. The total length of trenching was 720m. The subsoil varied across the site from mid-orange/brown clayey silt with frequent pencil gravel (Trench 1) to mottled light-yellow/green/brown clay with frequent small to medium sub-angular sandstones (Trench 14). The topsoil depth varied across the site from 0.2m (Trench 2) to 0.45m (Trench 15).
A single trench (Trench 9) contained archaeological material in the form of a burnt mound. This west-north-west/east-south-east-orientated trench was situated to target the location of the proposed substation and access road. At the extreme east-south-east end of the trench a low mound of heat-shattered sandstones in a charcoal-enriched soil matrix extending for a maximum of 1.2m into the trench, was revealed. The mound is D-shaped in plan due to its truncation by an internal open drainage ditch for the field boundary where it is located. The mound has a maximum height of 0.3m and maximum dimensions of 10.5m west-north-west/east-south-east by 7.5m (where it is truncated by the drainage ditch). The remainder of the trench was archaeologically negative. Following on from recommendations in the testing report, monitoring of all groundworks associated with the substation was subsequently undertaken. The location of the substation will be altered to preserve the burnt mound in situ. No further features of archaeological significance were revealed in the monitoring associated with the substation.' The above description is posted on the web at the following internet address: http://www.excavations.ie/ (accessed 29 August 2012).

Compiled by: Denis Power

Date of upload: 29 August 2012