Archaeological excavation report, E3741 Cullenwaine, County Tipperary

Eachtra Archaeological Projects were commissioned by Laois County Council and the National Roads Authority to undertake archaeological works along 17.1 km (Contact 1) of the 35km N7 Castletown to Nenagh (Derrinsallagh to Ballintotty) national road scheme (EIS approved in November 2005). The scheme runs from the eastern junction of the present N7 Nenagh Bypass, North Tipperary a tie in to the M7/M8 Portlaoise- Castletown scheme to the south of Borris-in-Ossory in County Laois. The scheme is ap- proximately 191 hectares. Contract 1 comprises the western half of the scheme and runs from Clashnevin to Castleroan passing along the Tipperary North and Offaly county border regions. The Ministers Direction Number is A38. It was funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000- 2006. The total archaeological cost was administered by the National Roads Authority through Laois County Council as part of the Authority’s commitment to protecting our cultural heritage. The purpose of the archaeological services project was to conduct ar- chaeological site investigations within the lands made available for the scheme and to assess the nature and extent of any new potential archaeological sites uncovered. Phase 1 of the project (archaeological testing of the route) was carried out in 2007 under licence E3371, E3372 and E3375-8 issued by Department of the Environment Her- itage and Local Government (DoEHLG) in consultation with the National Museum of Ireland. The principal aim of this phase of the project was to test for any previously unknown sites by a programme of centreline and offset testing and to test sites of archaeo- logical potential identified in the EIS. Phase 2 of the project (resolution) involved the resolution of all archaeological sites identified within the proposed road corridor prior to commencement of the construction of the road. This phase of the project was carried out from June 2007 to February 2008 and excavations were conducted under the management of a Senior Archaeologist. A total of 27 sites were excavated during this phase of works under separate licences issued by DoEHLG. A post-excavation assessment and strategy document was prepared in Phase 3 of the project to present a management strategy for dealing with post-excavation work arising from archaeological works along the route of the new N7 Castletown to Nenagh. It included a proposal for post-excavation and archiving work and a budget for the works. NOTE: THE SITE NAM