EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

Limerick
was faced with stone. There were partial traces of occupation deposits, but these were
substantially destroyed by later agriculture.
Cush 8 consists of the partial surviving remains of a trivallate enclosure to the north of Cush
7. Two stone-lined souterrains were located at the south and north end of the site. The
southern souterrain was 10m long with a ventilation passage, 4.9m long, at its southern end.
The northern souterrain consisted of a straight stone-lined structure 7m long with a timberbuilt
entrance approach defined by four postholes. Two groups of postholes in the interior
give evidence for structures. One group east of the northern souterrain defined a roughly
rectangular structure with an associated hearth. Another group of postholes west of the
northern end of the southern souterrain defined a structure of unidentified shape. The partial
remains of a circular wattle-built structure defined by arcs of stakeholes were also excavated
to the east of the southern souterrain. The remainder of the structure was not locatedpossibly
due to disturbance caused either by the construction of the rectangular post-built
house or the southern souterrain. Two postholes, about 1.5m apart, were revealed along the
southern side of the enclosure and were interpreted as part of an entranceway. Finds from
the site included two bronze ring-headed pins.
Cush 9 consists of a small section of bank and ditch in the form of an arc extending between
Cush 8 and Cush 10. The arc may possibly form part of an enclosure though alternatively it
may instead have been built to connect up the two enclosures for defensive or agricultural
purposes. Accepting the later interpretation, the connecting arc of this site may have been
built perhaps at the same time as the defences of Cush 8 and Cush 10 were strengthened.
Except for a few postholes, there were no structural remains associated with the site.
Cush 10 consists of a trivallate enclosure, north of Cush 9. Part of the enclosing defences was
removed by a modern field fence. A series of wall-trenches within the interior outlined a
number of rectilinear features. Another curved wall-trench was excavated at the east side of
the end a souterrain and appears to have formed part of a protecting structure. At least one
of these structures appears to have been in use after the souterrain had silted-up.
A series of elongated rectangular field systems were identified at Cush running west-east
down the hillside to the enclosures. The field boundaries were delineated by U-shaped
ditches, 0.90m deep and a low bank surviving to a height of 0.45m. In contrast to the
modern field systems, these field boundaries respected the outlines of the early medieval
enclosures and appear to be roughly contemporary with or at least date to the later stages of
the occupation of the enclosures. Test excavations identified that the field boundary trenches
either cut into or stopped immediately short of the enclosures ditches, leading Ó Riordáin to
suggest that the field boundaries had been dug while the enclosure ditches were still unsilted
and in use.
Excavations within the area of the ‘western field’ identified further east-west silted-up ditches,
interpreted as field boundaries which pre-dated the ditches and banks of the rectangular
‘enclosure’ site to their east. This evidence suggests that the bank and ditch of the
rectangular ‘enclosure’ was built after the enclosures and a number of the field systems were
laid out. The boundaries of the rectangular enclosure do appear to have been integrated into
this system of ancient fields as its ditch and bank were aligned with two field boundaries on
the eastern side of the southern group of enclosures as well as one of the early ditches in the
‘western’ field. A block of ridge and furrow made by a heavy plough with a fixed mouldboard
was also identified running roughly east-west across part of the rectangular enclosure. Its
age could not be determined but it could also be possibly associated with these field systems.
General finds from the site included around thirty fragments of jet bracelets, four iron knives,
iron nails and over fifty whet-stones- the greatest number from Cush 4. Three possible
rubbers of saddle querns and a considerable quantity of rotary querns fragments- Cush10
(26), Cush 1 (12), Cush 5 (9), Cush 3 and Cush 4 (7 each), House B (6), Cush 9 (3) and Cush
6 (3) were also recovered. Sixteen pounds of iron slag was also recovered mainly from Cush
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