The Department of Archaeology, UCC is pleased to announce the publication of a major research project carried out in collaboration with the National Roads Authority. Titled: “Archaeological Excavations at Tullahedy, Co. Limerick: Neolithic Settlement in North Munster”, its authors are Rose M. Cleary and Hilary Kelleher. It is published by Collins Press.
This book details the results of an archaeological investigation in 2006-7, carried out by UCC, in advance of construction of the M7 Nenagh bypass. The project uncovered evidence of a large Neolithic settlement in Tullahedy townland, sited on an esker ridge 5km to the south of Lough Derg. The excavation work was funded by the NRA as part of their ongoing commitment to the discovery and recording of archaeological heritage on Irish road schemes. This book marks the first time the NRA has collaborated with a University in Ireland in the publication of a major research excavation.
Professor William O’Brien explains: “The main portion of the Tullahedy site was an enclosed Neolithic settlement occupied by farmers in the period 3700–3400 BC. The original location was a promontory surrounded by a lake on two sides, with the landward approach protected by an oak palisade. The surviving evidence of Neolithic habitation includes the remains of three rectangular houses built using split oak planks, with adjacent hearths and deposits of food waste connected to farming. A large number of pits were discovered in the site. These contained charred cereal remains and animal bone fragments, as well as quantities of broken pottery, polished stone axeheads, and flaked stone tools such as arrowheads and scrapers. This large Neolithic settlement enclosure is almost unique in Ireland, and provides important information on early farming societies in north Munster during the fourth millennium BC.”
Pictured at the launch of “Archaeological Excavations at Tullahedy, Co. Limerick: Neolithic Settlement in North Munster” were L-R: Councillor Damien Reidy (Leas Cathaoirleach, Limerick County Council); author Rose Cleary; Councillor Virginia O’Dowd (Mayor of Nenagh), Richard O’Brien (National Roads Authority) and Professor William O’Brien (UCC Archaeology).
