Pit in Screggan

Screggan 2 was excavated by Linda Hegarty of Headland Archaeology under licence No. E2848 and was located approximately 5.5km south-west of Tullamore town centre. The land comprised grass, cut for silage prior to the time of testing in February 2007. A pit was identified towards the eastern end of Trench 12. An additional area measuring 21.6m2 was stripped to identify the full extent of the feature. It was circular in plan with near vertical sides on the west and sloping on the east. The base was slightly concave, with sharp breaks of slope on the west. It measured 1.2m in diameter and 0.2m deep. It was filled by loose mid-brown sandy silt with occasional stones. An oval pit was identified towards the eastern end of Trench 13. It measured 1.3m north–south by 2.5m and 0.25m in depth. It had sharp breaks of slope on the top with smooth steep sides; the lower break of slope was gentle with a concave base. This pit was filled with moderately compact mid-brown sandy silt with frequent large stones and occasional brick fragments and charcoal flecks. This feature truncates a shallow north-west/south-east-orientated slightly curvilinear feature, which terminates within the trench. It measures c. 0.4m in width and 8.2m in length. An additional area measuring 8.25m2 was stripped of topsoil to identify the extent of the feature. Due to the close proximity of these two features an additional trench (13a) measuring 17.3m was excavated parallel to Trench 1. A number of linear features crossed the site; two of the most coherent were sectioned (Contexts 008 and 010). Both linear features were identified 85m and 110m along the centre-line trench respectively. Feature (008) was linear in plan and was orientated east–west, measuring 0.9m wide and 0.35m deep; it continued outside the CPO. It had steep sides and a concave base. It was filled with moderately compact mid-brown sandy silt with frequent small stones. Feature (010) was linear in plan and was also orientated east–west, measuring 2.3m wide and 0.35m deep; this also continued outside the CPO. It had gently sloping sides and a flat base. It was filled with moderately compact mid-brown sandy silt with frequent small stones (Bennett 2010, 405).