Furnace in Crabbsland

In low-lying poorly drained pasture, c. 60m to W of a stream, on S edge of Eastlink Business Park, and on N side of Ballysimon Road. Not depicted on OS historic mapping. Identified in 2000 as a mound during the course of field walking and investigated provisionally during test trenching (Licence no. 00E0852) in advance of the Limerick Southern Ring Road, Contract One: Rosbrien to Annacotty (Coyne 2000, 4). Described initially as a scatter of cremated and unburnt bone found beneath the topsoil (ibid, 30). This was excavated in 2001 to reveal a crescent-shaped spread covered in a mantle of clay (Coyne 2001, 32). The clay covering is thought to have been used to mask the site during the medieval times owing to the finding of a crutch headed pin (find no. 00E0852: 28: 1) which had been deliberately placed under a stone on this site and which can be closely dated to this period (ibid). The primary mound material comprised of heat-shattered stone with very little charcoal. Neither the trough nor the hearth were found and may have been located outside of the excavation area. The presence of two small furnaces and iron slag on top of the clay mantle suggests that the site had an industrial function during the medieval period, when it seems to have been used for iron smelting. It is not possible to clarify from the evidence if the burnt mound and the industrial site are mutually exclusive or if they are directly associated. The presence of animal bone does show that some domestic activity took place on the site. Radiocarbon dating of the charcoal recovered from the heat-shattered stone deposit will be able to confirm if the burnt mound is closely associated with the industrial activity and artefacts recovered from above the clay sealing layer (ibid, 33). Area now developed as a road and a car park visible on Google Earth orthophoto taken 28/06/2018. See attached Google Earth orthoimage 28/06/2018. Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 26 June 2020