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

On flat rushy pasture 560m E of the River Maigue and the townland boundary with Ballynabanoge. One of a group of five prehistoric sites (LI031-211/212/213/214----) 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. A single isolated pit was excavated at the site (02E0556, Taylor 2004). The pit was sub-rectangular (ext. dims. 1m N-S; 0.62m E-W and D. 0.3m). The profile was generally bowl-shaped, except on the E side, which was slightly undercut. Two fills were recorded; the primary fill was an orange brown silty clay with small stones, occasional charcoal flecks and a few fragments of bone. The upper fill consisted of a dark brown charcoal flecked silty stony clay including both burnt and unburnt bone. This site appears to be an example of a type that is common in S Limerick containing charcoal and heated altered stone. This deposit is similar to a fill associated with a Fulacht fia and may represent a single event of heating water or a feature that was used a limited number of times, with only a small amount of burnt stone required. Compiled by: Edmond O’Donovan Date of upload: 22 October 2020