Excavation — miscellaneous in Rosstemple (coshma By., Athlacca Ed)

On flat rushy pasture 710m E of the River Maigue and the townland boundary with Ballynabanoge. One of a group of five prehistoric sites (LI031-211/212/213/215----) excavated within 500m on the Bord Gáis Éireann's Pipeline to the West in 2002 in Inchinclare and Rosstemple townlands (Grogan, et. al. 2007). No trace of the monument was present on historic maps or aerial photographs prior to the discovery of the site during pipeline construction. Several archaeological features were revealed during archaeological monitoring which were excavated under a single licence (02E0510, Taylor 2004). The site area covered 154m2 with a concentration of features toward the middle and S. Eight features were excavated; three large pits; a post-hole; two small pits with evidence of burning; a ditch and a stake-hole. Four of the features were interpreted as prehistoric, with the remainder relating to more recent activity. The earliest feature excavated was a short ditch (L. 4m) that formed a right-angle, although it did not appear to be part of a larger structure. A piece of worked flint was recovered from the ditch fill, one end of which was truncated by a large pit. Three charcoal flecked fills were identified within the pit. The primary fill produced a flint scraper and a waste flint flake. The secondary and tertiary fills contained a quantity of burnt and unburnt bone and a whetstone. A sub-circular stake-hole was situated at the base of this pit. The other prehistoric feature was a small pit that contained animal bone in its primary fill and burnt stones in its upper fill. Compiled by: Edmond O’Donovan Date of upload: 22 October 2020