Burnt mound in Ballynakill (coolestown By.)

Burnt mound (dims. 1.95m E-W x 1.87m N-S) material was discovered in Trench 1 (L. 56m x Wth 1.8m x D 0.25-0.3m) during archaeological test trenching that was undertaken under licence no. 22E0543 by Caoimhe Ní Thóibín on the 21st of August 2022 on foot of a planning condition in advance of construction of a dwelling house, at Ballynakill, Edenderry, Co. Offaly. The results of the test trenching were summarised as follows; 'Pre-construction archaeological test trenching was carried out across the footprint of the development including the percolation area and driveway. The archaeological test trench layout included four linear trenches. These were excavated by a mechanical digger with a 1.8m grading bucket and hand cleaned. Identified during the works was a burnt mound spread measuring 4.24m north-south by 1.05 to 1.95m east-west. This was discovered in the southern end of trench one excavated along the alignment of the proposed driveway. The burnt mound was extensively cleaned back and the limits present within the trench identified. A small hand-dug test trench was put through a mid-section of the visible mound material. It measured 0.91m northeast/southwest by 0.14m northwest/southeast and was 0.03m in depth. The material was very shallow which may indicate that this is the edge of a larger mound or represent a shallow spread. The burnt mound was recorded and covered with geotextile before backfilling the trench. It is recommended that the proposed driveway be raised up above the level of the archaeology using layers of sand and graded stone. This will ensure the preservation in situ of the burnt mound material' (Ní Thóibín 2002). See attached site plan and photographs courtesy of Caoimhe Ní Thóibín Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Caoimhe Ní Thóibín Date of upload: 9 November 2022

Burnt mound, Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. These features are commonly associated with ritual or industrial activities, such as heat-treated stone use in cooking or hide processing.