Solar Development and Heritage Week Ballyragget – A Case Study of the Importance of Archaeology

Protecting Our Ancient Heritage

To mark heritage week this year, we are acknowledging the significant role that archaeology plays within the development process, by considering the impact it had on our site at Ballyragget, Co Kilkenny.

To provide legal protection to our ancient built heritage, the National Monuments Act was brought in in 1930. Additionally, there is significant protection provided to archaeological heritage within The Planning and Development Act 2000 so that archaeological heritage will always be an important consideration in sustainable development plans. Often, this means that carrying out archaeological surveys is a condition of planning for many of our sites. This process is started by carrying out a geophysical survey at the pre planning stage to create subsurface maps of archaeological features. When this process identifies potential points of interest, trenching may then be carried out to identify the significance of the archaeological features found. Development can generally continue if appropriate mitigation and protection measure are implemented by the developer in conjunction with an archaeologist. Archaeologists and Developers are often conditioned by planning to liaise with County Councils and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on any archaeological findings.

Ballyragget Case Study

In the case of Ballyragget, archaeological surveying was required as a condition of the grant of planning. Elgin’s planning consultant, Tobins, instructed Courtney Deery to carry out geophysical surveying in which they identified multiple archaeological features which required an extensive amount of trenching. The development site is in the townland of Ballyconra, near the river Nore, which has attracted settlement since the prehistoric period.

A total of 76 trenches were dug which unearthed archaeological features indicating human activity starting in the prehistoric period (c. 7000BC – AD 400) up until the late Medieval period (c.1170 - 1550 AD). The earliest features identified were a cluster of Bronze Age burial sites, which marks the start of individual burials as humans moved away from the tradition of communal burial, common in the earlier Neolithic period. 19th century records show that these Neolithic burials also took place in this area from the presence of above ground Megalithic tombs, however these do not survive to today. The Bronze Age burial sites also lie near several fulachtaí fia, or burnt mounds. These are ancient cooking places consisting of a water-filled trough into which fire heated stones are placed to heat the water.

Trenching also identified substantial activity from the early medieval period, identifying the remains of an ecclesiastical site and moated sites from this period. Ballyconra was situated in the Irish kingdom Uí Duach Argatrois, which readily adopted Christianity over the 5th and 6th centuries like much of Ireland at the time. Early monastic settlements from this period are characterised by multiple concentric curvilinear enclosures with the church (ecclesiastical site) placed at the centre. Secular activities (domestic, commercial, and industrial) were reserved for the outer rings and these settlements would have had associated farms, field systems, and agricultural features such as watermills and cereal drying kilns. Aerial imagery also identified other earthworks indicating the subdivision of the enclosure into annexes and radiating roadways and the presence of a holy well located immediately south of the church complex.

Activity from the late medieval period was also identified from the presence of a linear settlement, more characteristic of this period, identified from the trenching. After the Anglo-Norman invasion in the 12th century AD, there was much upheaval resulting from William Marchal taking control of this territory. In 1218 the Parish of Aghetyr was granted to John d’Evreux, a supporter or Marshal, who held a large estate alongside the river Nore which he would go on to grant to his son. There is no historical record of where the town of Aghetyr stood, but it is possible that this refers to the medieval linear settlement identified at this site. The settlement was quite extensive with the Church of Ballyconra being the centre of the Parish at the time. The Red Book of Ossory, a document listing the value of the holdings of the diocese, notes that in the 14th century the Church de Aghteyr was valued at ￡10 which was a substantial amount of money, indicating extensive landholding and power.

Mitigation Actions

To protect the archaeological discoveries, Courtney Deery recommended actions to be taken by Elgin before and during the construction of the solar farm. The recommendations were comprised of buffer and exclusion zones. Exclusion zones were implemented 20 m from the edge of the site to protect subsurface enclosures, no development or development related activities were permitted in this area. Exclusion zones were also recommended for areas immediately east of the site preventing any damage from fencing, storage of the materials, or from use of heavy machinery. Areas of the site with archaeological discoveries between 0.05 and 0.1 m below the surface were also recommended for exclusion zones.

Buffer zones were recommended for findings which were located deeper below the ground surface. Concrete feet are used to support the solar panels to prevent the ground penetration required by the normal supports. The extent of the buffer zones was based on the frequency of discoveries identified based on a combination of testing and the geophysical survey. Both the implementation of the exclusion and buffer zones was to be carried out under archaeological supervision at the pre-construction stage as well.

Extensive work goes into protecting our archaeological heritage as this remains a key factor in understanding civilisations that have gone before us. Heritage week is a celebration of our shared history so by extension a celebration of the work we put into protecting it. This work is carried out by our development, pre-construction and construction teams who all play important roles. The first geophysical survey for Ballyragget was carried out in 2016 and we’re still working towards protecting the archaeology at this site 8 years later. As we progress towards a greener society archaeology will be part of this, so it is important to acknowledge why it is necessary and celebrate what it can teach us.