What is recorded here

Bord Gáis Éireann cut a narrow pipeline through County Limerick, bringing a forgotten post-hole into the light. Graham Hull measured its shallow concave base and the limestone chips packed around a vanished timber upright. The hole may have held a fence, a marker or a doorway, but the wood rotted away and the purpose disappeared with it. What remains is a small bruise in the clay, deep enough to anchor a pole and empty enough to deny certainty.

This site was examined by Graham Hull (02E0579) as part of Bord Gáis Éireann's Pipeline to the West, when 'a single post-hole or small pit measuring 0.8m by 0.6m was excavated. The sides of the feature sloped down at a roughly 45? angle to a concave base that lay 0.4m below the machined ground surface. Two fills were recorded. The primary fill, 0.3m thick, was a mid-brown silty clay with orange mottling and occasional charcoal flecking. The secondary fill, 0.1m thick, was a dark brown, silty clay with frequent charcoal inclusions. Both fills included limestone pieces, suggestive of post packing. These stones were as large as 0.25m but were generally in the size range of 0.1-0.15m. The absence of artefactual material and the discrete nature of the feature do not allow for detailed chronological or functional discussion. It is most likely that the feature was cut to insert a timber upright, which may have had a diameter of c. 0.3m.' The above description is posted on the web at the following internet address: http://www.excavations.ie/ (accessed 22 August 2012). Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload: 22 August 2012

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