Burial ground in Rathmiles

An irregular enclosure (max. dim. c. 50m N-S), hachured on 1841 edition of the OS 6-inch map. Possibly a landscape feature. No visible surface remains. Excavation of this levelled monument (Nat. Grid Ref. 25661 20963) was carried out in 2001 by Dominic Delany under licence no. 01E1100. An irregular enclosure (max. dim. c. 50m north-south) is hachured on the first edition of the OS six-inch map. The proposed development comprises the construction of a golf-course, hotel, clubhouse, shop/petrol filling station and 104 houses on a c. 250-acre site at Rathleash, Rathmiles and Tirhogar townlands, Portarlington, Co. Laois. The monument is on the site of the first fairway of the proposed golf-course. This area was stripped of topsoil prior to testing but subsequent site inspection revealed no trace of the monument. Testing comprised the mechanical excavation of two trenches on the site of the monument. Testing comprised the mechancial excavation of two trenches on the site of the monument. Trench 1 extended 80m north-west/south-east through the approximate centre of the monument, and Trench 2 extended 33m south-west from the mid point of Trench 1. Three sections of a 4-5m wide curvilinear ditch, enclosing a large sub-circular area, and human bones, representing the remains of possible 10 individuals were discovered during testing. The curvilinear dicth is undoubtedly associated with the enclosure indicated on the 1841 OS 6-inch map. No finds or features discovered during testing that might indicate a date for the burials, but the east-west orientation of the skeletons suggest a Christian burial. In accordance with the recommendations of Duchas, the layout of the first fairway is being redesigned in order to ensure preservation in situ of the archaeological material (Bennett 2003, 224). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007