TREASURES OF major historical significance have been unearthed during archaeological excavations on the proposed N7 Castletown-Nenagh dual-carriageway.
Two axes have been found in the Camblin area near Roscrea, Co Tipperary. The first axe is believed to date from the Bronze Age (2,100 to 700 BC) and the second from the 7th century BC.
The Bronze Age axe was discovered in a shallow pit and, with an Iron Age medieval iron "bearded" axe, was found close to two Bronze Age enclosed settlements near the N62 Templemore road.
Archaeologists also unearthed three ring forts in the Camblin area and discovered a burial ground believed to date from the 6th or 7th century. They believe the ground would have been in use before the bishops had formalised the practise of human burial in consecrated churchyards.
According to the archaeological report on the motorway route commissioned by the National Roads Authority, the "burials were all in the Christian manner, although some of the bodies seem to have been more casually interred, such as one where the legs were bent to fit into a small grave. The burials included people of all ages and it is likely the site was used for several hundred years."
Archaeologists also unearthed 23 ancient fulachta fia at Camblin. These were pits hewn out of the ground and filled with hot stones and water for cooking. In tandem with these, archaeologists also found a wooden crane used for lifting water from a well or spring, a source of water which they believe was in use for over 2,000 years.
Archaeologists stated that the wooden crane, or shaduff, is often linked to ancient Egypt and north Africa and the Camblin shaduff has been described as "an exceptional discovery" and "the first evidence for such a machine being used in Bronze Age Ireland".
The NRA report says a good example of 13th-century coinage from the reign of Edward I was found near Busherstown on the Tipperary-Offaly border. Also discovered nearby was a "form of a type of moated manor" surrounded by a large defensive ditch and believed to date from AD 1000 to 1350. Several wooden structures and a number of skeletons were also unearthed.