What is recorded here

Ten centimetres of topsoil vanished during the Bord Gáis Éireann Pipeline to the West, revealing a forgotten oval hole in County Limerick pasture. Ken Wiggins found the scar in 2002, while Kate Taylor later emptied its charcoal-stained clay. The tiny deposit held burnt bone fragments and rounded stones, perhaps markers for a boundary or a lost ritual. The earth kept that small life until machinery called it forth.

In pasture 10m S of a watercourse and 60m E of a stream that marks the townland boundary with Ballincurra. Not depicted on OSi historic maps. Identified as (BGE 3/77/24) in 2002 by Ken Wiggins (Licence 02E0119) during topsoil-stripping on the Bord Gáis Éireann Pipeline to the West. Post-hole excavated in 2002 by Kate Taylor under licence No. 02E0508 the results of which were summarised as follows; ‘This site was examined as part of Bord Gáis Éireann’s Pipeline to the West. A single, isolated post-hole was excavated on fairly flat pastureland adjacent to a small stream. The post-hole was oval with a concave profile, measuring 0.29m by 0.26m, and was 0.24m deep. It was filled by a grey/black silty clay that contained a small number of rounded stones and had a large charcoal component. A bulk soil sample of the post-hole fill has been wet sieved and floated: a small amount of charcoal and a few small fragments of bone were recovered, some of which were burnt. Initial inspection suggests that it is unlikely that these represent cremated human bone, but further analysis is required. The charcoal may be suitable for species identification (Taylor 2004, 300); Grogan 2007, 244)’. Monument has been fully excavated and is not visible on aerial images. Compiled by: Martin Fitzpatrick Date of upload: 20 May 2021

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