Indicated — Moneygall

Not visible at ground level. Depicted on the first two editions of the OS 6-inch maps as a circular enclosure. Testing by Brian Halpin of National Archaeological Services, under licence no. 04E1359 was carried out on a greenfield site on 27 September 2004. The proposed development is on the site of an earthwork. Four trenches, 58m in length by 1m in width by 0.3m in depth, were opened using a tracked machine with a 1m-wide flat toothless bucket. Seven features of archaeological potential were exposed. Nothing of archaeological significance was encountered in Trench 1. Trench 2 contained three features. F1 was a modern cut 8.6m wide. F2 was a linear ditch aligned east-west across the trench. It had a width of 3.1m and a depth of 0.55m. A test section was excavated through it revealing two fills. The upper fill was a dark-brown silty clay with an occasional charcoal flecking. The basal fill was a dark-brown silty clay with occasional large stones and one large animal bone protruding from the section at the base. F3 was a small subcircular feature protruding from the cut of the trench and had a length of 1.5m, width of 0.15m and depth of 0.07m. A test section revealed the fill to be an ashy grey sandy clay with moderate amounts of charcoal and burnt sandstone. This fill is indicative of in situ burning, possibly of a fulacht fiadh. Trench 3 contained three features. F4 was a linear ditch aligned east-west across the trench. It had a width of 2m and a depth of 0.5m. A test section showed the fill to be a dark-brown silty clay with very occasional charcoal flecking and six small fragments of burnt animal bone. F5 was a linear ditch aligned east-west across the trench. It had a width of 2.1m. The fill was a light-brown silty clay with modern pottery and glass. This feature had no archaeological significance. F6 was a small irregular-shaped cut with a maximum width of 1.8m, protruding from the trench. The fill was a brown silty clay with modern refuse. This feature had no archaeological significance. Trench 4 contained F7, a linear ditch aligned east-west across the trench. It had a width of 5.8m and a depth of 0.6m. A test section showed the fill to be a light-brown sandy silty clay with occasional charcoal flecks, small and medium stones and fragments of animal bone, such as teeth and one boar's tooth (Bennett 2007, 369). Phased archaeological investigations were carried out at a greenfield site on the Cloughjordan Road, Moneygall, Co. Offaly, between October 2007 and February 2008. The proposed development involves the construction of fifteen houses on and near the site of OF046–017----, an earthwork. Initial testing carried out by Brian Halpin in October 2004 (Excavations 2004, No. 1421) ‘uncovered a series of linear features of unknown date, a subcircular feature, the possible remains of a Bronze Age burnt spread or potboiler but there were no traces of the earthwork uncovered’ (quoted from Brian Halpin’s Testing Report prepared by the National Archaeological Services Ltd under licence No. 04E1359). Further work carried out by Billy Quinn of Moore Archaeological & Environmental Services Ltd under licence No. 04E1359 ext. in October 2007 exposed the remains of the enclosing ditch associated with the earthwork. Following consultations with the National Monuments Service it was agreed that the monument be tested and preserved in situ by covering the exposed archaeological remains. Investigations at the site exposed the circuit of the enclosing ditch and a further seven archaeological features. Test excavation of the three trenches through the enclosing ditch to the west, east and south of the monument exposed an extant defensive fosse generally measuring 6m wide at the top, with sloping sides breaking to an uneven base. The ditch had an average depth of 1.5m and was broadly U-shaped in profile. Stratigraphically the exposed profiles were generally uniform, consisting of an upper silty fill overlying a lower sandier deposit. The only finds retrieved included fragments of animal bone, found in the lower contexts. The stratigraphy was consistent with natural silting at the base of the trench over a prolonged period followed by the levelling of the monument in the 19th century and infilling of the remains of the ditch with the internal bank material. Despite the destruction of the monument and subsequent agricultural activity the enclosing defensive fosse survived extant below ground. Further testing within the enclosure in advance of ground-reduction work revealed seven features. These comprised two plough furrows and assorted pits, one of which was backfilled with stone and was probably of recent provenance. No datable artefacts were recovered from the remaining pits. On the outskirts of the enclosure a number of other features were investigated. These included a sterile linear trench, two associated pits, one circular and the other rectangular, both of which were backfilled with burnt stone, and four assorted pits, none of which contained datable artefacts. The limited investigations carried out at Moneygall did not constitute a comprehensive investigation of the archaeology of the site. Work was limited to an agreed brief in order to preserve the site in situ, to examine the enclosing ditch and resolve any surface features exposed during topsoil-stripping work in the October phase. Following these investigations the site was covered in geotextile and sand to provide a protective buffer in advance of development (Bennett 2010, 403). Archaeological investigations were carried out by Billy Quinn of Moore Archaeological & Environmental Services Ltd under licence No. 04E1359ext. at Springfield, Moneygall, Co. Offaly, between 16 and 26 October 2007. The proposed development involved the erection of fifteen houses, new entrance and ancillary siteworks on a greenfield site near OF046–017001, classified as an earthwork. Outline permission to build was originally granted in 2004 subject to pre-development testing. An initial testing phase was carried out by Brian Halpin (National Archaeological Services Ltd) in October 2004 (Excavations 2004, No. 1421). Four trenches running north-north-west/south-south-east were excavated across the site that ‘uncovered a series of linear features of unknown date and a subcircular feature, the possible remains of a Bronze Age burnt spread or potboiler. There were no traces of the earthwork uncovered.’ On the basis of these findings a further investigation was recommended. Following this, Moore Group were commissioned to undertake the monitoring of topsoil-stripping under a licence transfer. During the course of the monitoring brief on 10 September 2007 (Excavations 2007, No. 1463) excavation exposed the remains of the southern portion of an enclosing ditch associated with the earthwork (OF046–017----). Following consultations with archaeologist Hugh Carey for the National Monuments Service, DEHLG, it was agreed that the monument be preserved in situ by covering the exposed remains in geotextile and raising the existing development levels by 0.3m to act as a buffer between the archaeological deposits and the proposed house foundations. Furthermore, Mr Carey required that a number of sections should be hand-dug across the width of the fosse and in other areas of archaeological potential. The site consists of a rectangular field fronting on to the Cloughjordan road. The site, originally pasture, slopes from west to east. In the vicinity of the monument, towards the north-east corner of the site, was a subcircular elevated area. Topsoil-stripping using a 14-tonne machine with grading bucket exposed the curvilinear line of the southern side of the enclosing ditch of the monument. The northern section was not exposed, as it lay outside the confines of the site. The ditch was defined by a wide fosse filled with a brown loam that measured c. 5.8m wide at the top. A test-trench excavated through the feature showed a stratigraphy c