EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

Limerick
Ballyduff, Co. Limerick
Early Medieval Settlement Enclosure
Grid Ref: R210795 (12100/17950)
SMR No: LI057-006
Excavation Licence: E000815
Excavation Duration/Year: July & August 1979
Site Director: Rose Cleary & Vincent Hurley (University College Cork)
A counterscarp enclosure at Ballyduff revealed evidence for the occupation of the site in the
form of a possible house foundation trench, hearths, postholes, paved surfaces and gravel
spreads. No finds were recovered and there was no indication of a date for the features. The
site (175m OD) was partially excavated over the course of seven weeks in July and August
1979 in advance of improvements along the Mitchelstown-Ballylanders Road. Three
quadrants (1a, 1b & 2a) were excavated in the western section as well as a trench cut across
the enclosing banks and ditches (Fig. 183). None of the three quadrants were investigated
down to sterile levels as the excavation was unable to be completed due to lack of funds.
Prior to excavation the earthwork appeared as a univallate enclosure, oval in plan and
measuring 43m by 48m. Excavation uncovered traces of a second outer bank. The inner
bank- 1.5m maximum height- measured 1.1m high and 4.2m wide in the trench and
consisted primarily of re-deposited boulder clay. The inner ditch was flat-bottomed,
measuring 2.60m wide at its base and 1.50m deep below the original ground level. The ditch
appears to have silted-up in five distinct stages. The external counterscarp bank- 2.5m wideappears
to have been leveled on top and only survived as a 0.2m-0.3m thick layer of redeposited
boulder clay, similar to that uncovered in the inner bank. There was no obvious
evidence for an outer ditch. A possible entranceway was located in the northwest side of the
enclosure but local information indicated that it may have been constructed in the early-
1950s.
A possible house foundation trench (0.5m-2m wide) filled with humus and small boulders was
uncovered (Fig. 183). The trenches defined the south, west and north sides of a possible
building, 5.6m north-south and at least 5m east-west. A circular spread of oxidized clay- 0.8m
in diameter- was uncovered within the area of the foundation trench and was interpreted as a
hearth. Five postholes and fifteen stakeholes were recorded in and around the hearth. An
introduced gravel spread- 1.7m by 2.3m- was uncovered on the southern edge of the hearth
lying over the original floor surface. Six postholes were also recorded within the area
enclosed by the house trenches. Running for 4m adjacent to the south bank of the enclosure
outside the possible house foundation trench was the remains of a drain (0.7m-0.8m wide by
0.2m maximum depth). Its fill contained a mixture of humus and charcoal and it appears that
this feature may have been dug to catch run-off water from the bank.
The main feature within quadrant 1a comprised the site of a hearth (0.3m in diameter) which
was apparent as a spread of oxidized soil surrounded by a large spread of charcoal-flecked
humus. Two amorphous gravel spreads were also recorded and almost surrounded the
hearth.
A roughly-set paved surface composed of small flat boulders was uncovered within the
southern part of quadrant 2a. Two closely-set cobbled areas were recovered on the northwestern
and south-western sides of this paving. These areas of paving and cobbling were
identifiable prior to excavation as a low ridge. Similar low ridges and banks were visible in the
south-eastern area of the enclosure and may perhaps represent the remains of other
unexcavated paved areas or even stone-built structures. A further gravel spread was
excavated in the south-western corner of the quadrant and like the similar examples in
quadrants 1a and 1 b was also introduced to the site.
350