- BALLYOSKILL, CO. KILKENNY, Kilkenny

Introduction
In February 1971 a number of cists were discovered during bulldozing operations at a quarry near Ballyragget, Co. Kilkenny. The bulldozer driver noticed the cists and reported the find to the local parish priest, Father O’Doherty, who informed the NMI. A ten-day rescue excavation was undertaken by Ellen Prendergast and Michael Ryan. The human remains were examined by Laureen Buckley. A brief account of the site was published (Prendergast and Ryan 1972). This more extensive account is based on the original site record although plans of the site could not be located.

Location (Fig. 3.88)
The site was in the townland of Ballyoskill, north Co. Kilkenny, close to the border with County Laois.¹⁴⁰ It lies at approximately 300m above sea level at the northern end of a north/south ridge at the western end of a plateau containing the Castlecomer coal measures.

Fig. 3.88—Location map, Ballyoskill, Co. Kilkenny.

The site commands a wide view of the surrounding countryside. Neither edition of the relevant OS 6in. sheet marks a cairn in this location. A quarry is marked on the second edition (1902) of the map, and quarrying during the nineteenth century and subsequently must have been responsible for removing the greater part of the cairn, or possibly for the construction of the ‘cairn’. A mound¹⁴¹ is listed in the SMR approximately 20m south of the site excavated here in the same townland. The area was quarried for a particular type of thinly banded sandstone known locally as ‘opal stone’.

Description of site
Two main bulldozer tracks had been driven through the site, one running roughly east/west and the other north-east/south-west. Other minor tracks were in evidence and a system of three squares was devised to incorporate most of these slightly disturbed areas while providing coherent cross-section faces. Three cuttings were opened and upon removal of the top sod the cairn material became evident. It consisted of a haphazard deposit of small stone laminae. The majority of cairn stones ranged from 0.08m to 0.12m in width and from 0.1m to 0.2m in length. Many fragments of modern china were found within the cairn material. At the base of the cairn there was a tendency for some larger stones (max. 0.4m long by 0.25m wide) to occur. Although an attempt was made to establish the perimeter of the cairn on the eastern and north-eastern sides, it appeared that it had collapsed or had been extensively levelled some time previously.¹⁴² Subsequent to the excavation, Michael Ryan raised the possibility that the cairn as it appeared at the time was a product of old quarry debris, and that the cists were in fact originally covered by a thin layer. This might explain the great disturbance of the cairn material and the occurrence of modern china.

Five cists were discovered.¹⁴³ The graves appear to have been dug into subsoil, which the excavators describe as a dull yellowish brown homogeneous soil composed in large part of decayed sandstone.

Grave 1
This was rectangular in plan, with its long axis aligned almost exactly north/south. Internally it measured 0.87m long by 0.5m wide by 0.6m deep. It was constructed of four main slabs, one forming each wall. The slabs were thin, and at one end a number of support stones had been placed outside the end stone in order to support it. The floor of the cist was paved with a number of slabs. The cist was originally capped, though whether with a single capstone or more is not possible to say. The cist contained a few fragments of cremated bone, two bipartite vases and a miniature vase.¹⁴⁴ One of the vases and the miniature vase were found standing upright, while the second vase had fallen on its side. The fragments of cremated bone (2009:28) were found in vessel 1, a bipartite vase. The bone was found to represent at least one adult individual and one juvenile aged ten to twelve years at death. A radiocarbon determination from carbonate has produced a date of 3710±50,¹⁴⁵ which calibrates to 2278–1955 BC at 95.4% probability.

Bipartite vase, 2009:25 (Fig. 3.89)

A bipartite vase with everted rim. The ware is coarse and dull grey, with traces of mica in the grit. The rim and body are decorated and the base is plain. On the upper surface of the rim the decoration consists of three ridges in false relief decorated with a series of short strokes forming a herringbone pattern. The edge of the rim also bears decoration in the form of herringbone pattern. The ornament of the body is arranged in a series of horizontal zones

Fig. 3.89—Ceramic vessels, Ballyoskill, Co. Kilkenny

encircling the vessel. These will be described in order from the neck to the base. The neck is decorated with a band of herringbone ornament, defined by incised grooves both above and below. Below this is a groove from which depends a row of chevrons in false relief. The lower part of this band is defined by a second row of triangular depressions, and the middle portion is infilled with comb impressions. Below this are two bands of false relief decorated with incised herringbone decoration. This is followed by a further band of herringbone ornament bordered on each side by a thin undecorated band. Below this again is a band in false relief infilled with comb impressions, defined above and below by triangular depressions. Between this and the lowermost band of ornament is a blank space below which occurs two bands of vertically disposed comb impressions. Dimensions: H 8.6cm; ext. D rim 11.1cm; int. D rim 9.1cm; D base 4.2cm; T rim 0.6cm.

Bipartite vase, 2009:26 (Fig. 3.89)

A bipartite vessel with a sharply everted rim. The ware is very coarse and friable with visible mica and quartz inclusions in the grit. The vessel is dull grey on the outer and inner surfaces; the core is buff-streaked. Decoration occurs on the rim and body but not on the base. The ornament is organised in horizontal zones. The rim top bears three parallel rows of D-shaped (thumbnail?) impressions, the two raised areas in between being decorated with radial strokes. The edge of the rim is ornamented with short oblique strokes. A plain area follows, below which is a row of D-shaped depressions, bordered on the lower side by four false-relief edges ornamented with oblique strokes, the upper forming two herringbone patterns. There follows a false-relief band decorated with vertical strokes and bordered on either side by a row of D-shaped depressions. This is followed by a row of four false-relief ridges decorated with oblique strokes. Bordering this is a zone of conjoined D-shaped impressions and a row of individual similar impressions. Defined by a thin groove on each side is a further zone of these impressions. The two lowermost zones are composed of irregular areas in false relief infilled with vertical strokes. Dimensions: H 10.5cm; ext. D rim 13.9cm; int. D rim 11.8cm; D base 5.5cm; T body (max.) 1.1cm.

Miniature bipartite vase, 2009:27 (Fig. 3.89)

The vessel is undecorated. It is a flat-bottomed, bipartite vessel with an everted rim. The vessel is dull brown/grey internally. The ware is coarse and friable with mica and quartz inclusions in the grit. The vessel is almost complete, except for a large chip missing from the rim and neck at one point. The outer surface bears an encrustation of the fill of the cist. Dimensions: H 5.1cm; ext. D rim 7.8cm; int. D rim 6cm; D base 2.4cm.

Grave 2
This cist was located south-east of grave 1. It was also rectangular in plan, with its long axis aligned north-east/south-west. Internally it measured 0.66m long by 0.43m wide. Again it was formed of four slabs set on edge, one at each wall. The slabs were thin, with a maximum thickness of 0.1m. The cist had been covered with a large, subrectangular capstone, measuring 1.4m long by 1.2m wide by 0.2m thick,¹⁴⁶ which would have extended further than the walls of the cist on all sides. The cist was filled with a rain-washed, homogeneous muddy fill and a small quantity of human remains was found. The sample represented at least one adult (2009:29), but did not represent a complete cremation sample.

Grave 3

This was located south-west of burial 1 and west of burial 2. It was partly uncovered by the bulldozer operation and had been somewhat disturbed in the process. It does not appear to have been fully excavated. The cist appears to have been rectangular in plan and was aligned north-north-east/south-south-west. It measured approximately 1.85m long by 0.35m wide by 0.45m high. The capstone had been shattered by heavy machinery. No human remains or associated artefacts were found in the cist.

Grave 4
This had not been disturbed by the bulldozer and was discovered intact. It was rectangular in plan, with its long axis aligned east/west. It was formed of four slabs set on edge, one at each side. One of the side stones inclined slightly inwards, but this does not appear to be a result of disturbance by the bulldozer. The cist was filled with a homogeneous deposit of rainwashed material, which was sampled and taken to the Museum. No human remains or associated artefacts were found in the cist.

Grave 5
This was located to the south-east of cist 1. It was a small, rectangular cist, with its long axis aligned east–west. Internally it measured 0.5m long by 0.25m wide by 0.3m deep. No capstone was found in the vicinity. The cist was filled with disturbed material consisting of humus mixed with small stone fragments and pebbles. No human remains or associated artefacts were found.

Comment
It is highly unusual that the excavation of five cists forming part of either a flat cemetery or a multiple-cist cairn should produce so little in terms of both artefacts and human remains.¹⁴⁷ Grave 1, by comparison with the others, was very well endowed, with three pottery vessels including a rare miniature vase. A sample of cremated bone from grave 1 has been dated to 2280–1950 cal. BC. Brindley (2007, 87, 186) has dated the pottery from the cist to stage 1 of the development of the vase tradition of early Bronze Age pottery, which she places between 2020 and 1920 BC. Three of the cists (graves 3, 4, and 5) produced nothing at all. It has been remarked (Buckley, below) that the cremated remains found in graves 1 and 2 were significantly less than might be expected and that the bone was quite eroded, suggesting exposure or, perhaps, the effect of rainwater seeping through the cists. It is also possible that the cists had been previously exposed by the earlier quarrying activity which had taken place on the site. Although there is no evidence to prove it, it may be the case that the contents of the three empty cists had been removed and the capstones replaced. Another possible explanation might be that these cists had been prepared in advance to receive the remains of those destined to be buried there but that these interments, for whatever reason, never took place. This site is by no means the only one in the corpus presented in this volume to have included cists that were devoid of both human remains and grave-goods. Eoin Grogan (2004, 67; also Daly and Grogan 1993, 60) has raised the possibility that, in some cases, funerary monuments such as the barrows at Mitchelstowndown West, Co. Limerick, which on excavation prove not to contain any human remains or other finds, were built with the intention that they should commemorate the dead rather than contain their remains. This remains a speculative suggestion, as there may be environmental factors that would result in the complete decay of the small quantities of human bone characteristic of these sites. In terms of the local topography, the site at Ballyoskill is situated at almost the highest point of a long ridge with spectacular views across the country. In 2007, about 1.5km further south on the same ridge, a large cist burial was discovered in a gravel quarry at Garraunaguilly (Cahill and Sikora, forthcoming) in a similarly impressive location with exceptional views in all directions. It contained a cremation and pottery but was much disturbed at the time of the investigation. In 1872 a cist was discovered at Coole, about 2.4km south west of Ballyoskill and just over 1km west of Garraunaguilly. A vase urn¹⁴⁸ containing a cremation was discovered.

HUMAN REMAINS
LAUREEN BUCKLEY

Grave 1 (2009:28)

The sample consisted of 650 fragments of cremated bone, weighing a total of 186g. The bone was a brown colour owing to the peaty soil in which it was contained. The colour could not be washed off, but where the bone had broken it could be seen that it was mainly white underneath. The bone appeared to be well calcined and was efficiently cremated. Some fragments seem to have a weathered appearance. There were horizontal fissures on the bone surface but it did not have a warped appearance owing to the small fragment size. Obviously the sample is much smaller than the 1,600–3,000g expected from a full adult cremation. There may have been some disturbance on the site prior to the collection of the bone. The fragmentation of the sample is presented in Table 3.35, with the largest fragment being 42mm in length.

Table 3.35—Fragmentation of bone, grave 1.

It can be seen that there was only a small proportion of very large fragments, and that the sample consists of 50% medium-sized or larger fragments and 50% small fragments. This is considerably more fragmented than is normal for Bronze Age cremations and may have something to do with the circumstances of the find.

Identifiable bone
As the fragments were not very large and half were very small in size, the amount of bone that could be identified was much smaller than expected in a Bronze Age cremation. A total of 46g (25% of the total bone) was identified. As the amount identified and the sample size is so small, there is little to be gained from determining the proportion of bones identified. A brief description of identified fragments is therefore given instead.

Skull
Thirty fragments weighing 28g. There was one large fragment of the posterior part of an adult right parietal bone, part of the mastoid area of a temporal bone and part of a petrous temporal bone. A fragment of frontal bone with the crista frontalis visible was present. There was one fragment of an orbit. Several small fragments of adult bone were present but there were some thinner fragments that could have been from a juvenile. The fragment of orbit could also have been from a juvenile but this is not certain.

Dentition
Eleven fragments weighing 28g. There was only one partial mandibular tooth socket present although it could not be identified. There were ten tooth fragments, including one canine crown that had probably not erupted, one upper molar with roots only half-formed and crown shattered, and fragments of incisor roots. The upper molar is not a first molar but it could be a permanent third molar. In that case it probably belongs to an adolescent aged 15–16 years. However, as it could be a second permanent molar and since there was an unerupted canine, the dentition could belong to an older juvenile aged 10–12 years.

Vertebrae
Seven fragments weighing 4g. One fragment of a lower cervical vertebra body, one other fragment of body, two adult thoracic arches and a few fragmented articular surfaces were present.

Ribs
Eight tiny and eroded fragments of shaft, total weight 1g.

Pelvis
One fragment of ilium, weighing 2g.

Radius
Three fragments of shaft, including part of a tuberosity, total weight 4g.

Metacarpals and phalanges
Four fragments of metacarpal shaft were present, as well as two fragments of phalanges; total weight 3g.

Tibia
One fragment of shaft, weighing 1g.

Fibula
One fragment of shaft, weighing 1g.

Minimum number of individuals
There is so little bone present that it is difficult to be certain how many individuals are present. From the thickness of some of the skull fragments there does seem to be one adult. As some of the teeth are not erupted it could be an adolescent. In addition, there seems to be one juvenile aged 10–12 years.

Grave 2
The sample consisted of 826 fragments of cremated bone, weighing a total of 128g. The bone was a brown colour owing to the soil conditions and had a weathered appearance, but it appeared to be efficiently cremated. The sample size is nowhere near that of a full adult cremation but this is probably due to disturbance of the site rather than to its being a token deposit. The fragmentation of the sample is presented in Table 3.36, with the largest fragment being 40mm in length.

Table 3.36—Fragmentation of bone, grave 2.

It can be seen that there was a very small proportion of very large fragments and mediumsized fragments. Most of the fragments were small and therefore identification was very difficult. A total of 21g (16% of the total bone) was identified. This is probably the smallestever proportion of identified bone in a Bronze Age cremation.

Skull
Fifteen fragments, weighing 8g. There was one fragment of petrous temporal bone and a few fragments of adult frontal and parietal bone, as well as some small fragments of calvarium.

Dentition
Fifteen fragments, weighing 2g. Several fragmented tooth roots were present. There were at least two adult premolar roots, four incisor roots and fragmented molar roots.

Vertebrae
Six fragments, weighing 1g. A fragment of the first cervical vertebra was present, as well as some articular surfaces from the neural arches.

Ribs
Five very small fragments of shaft.

Pelvis
One fragment of ilium, weighing 2g.

Scapula
One fragment of acromial spine, weighing 2g.

Radius
One fragment of the head of an adult radius was present. Total weight 1g.

Metacarpals and phalanges
There was one fragment of metacarpal shaft, as well as one fragment of a phalanx.

Femur
Four fragments, weighing 4g, from an adult shaft, some with a thick linea aspera visible.

Fibula
Two fragments of shaft, total weight 1g.

Minimum number of individuals
There appeared to be one adult individual present. This is not a full cremation sample, however.

Summary and conclusions
Grave 1 contained a small amount, 186g, of efficiently cremated bone. The bone had been exposed to the elements for some time before it had been collected and had a weathered appearance. Because it had been disturbed, the bone was highly fragmented and there is no way of knowing how large the fragments had been when originally placed in the cist. The small sample size and the highly fragmented nature of the bone made identification difficult, but there appeared to be one adult or adolescent present and one juvenile aged 10–12 years. Grave 2 contained an even smaller sample of bone, 128g in weight. It was extremely fragmented and also had a weathered appearance owing to exposure to the elements. There were a few fragments from most areas of the skeleton but there was insufficient bone to give an accurate analysis of what was originally in the cist. All that could be said was that at least one adult was present. The remainder of the cists were empty, even though some of them had capstones. As they were not disturbed prior to excavation, the bone must have decayed over time or the cists may not have been used. Ryan has suggested that there was originally a thin layer of soil over the cists. This could leave them more susceptible to decay by the continuous seepage of rainwater. The bone that did survive had a weathered appearance, as if it had been subject to erosive conditions such as can occur with constant re-exposure to fresh water. The acidity of the soil is unknown but this could also have been a factor in the decay and weathering of the bone.

140. Parish of Attanagh, barony of Fassadinin. SMR KK005-00301- (cairn), KK005-00302- (cists). IGR 247420 176470.
141. SMR KK005-0031-. IGR 24762 17647.
142.An edge-set stone was noticed in the south-eastern quadrant of the cairn.
143. For reasons of clarity, numbers are used rather than the original letters, in accordance with the conventions in this publication. It was not possible to find any measured drawings for this site. Rough sketches are included in the file but regrettably there is insufficient information on them to enable accurate drawings to be produced.
144. 2009:25–28.
145. GrA-14605.
146. This had been carried across the site and dumped at the edge of the quarry.
147. See also Carrontlieve, Co Donegal (this volume, pp 130–3).
148. RSAI 285.