County: Wexford Site name: BALLYGILLISTOWN, CO. WEXFORD,
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR WX025-013 Licence number: E1180
Author: MARY CAHILL
Site type: Early Bronze Age graves
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 692860m, N 637147m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.477846, -6.633012
Introduction
In October 1984 a pit containing a cremation and a vase urn was discovered during building works near Davidstown, Co. Wexford. The find was made by construction workers and the site was reported to the NMI the same day. Although workmen had dug around the vessel, the remains were still in situ at the time of excavation. A one-day rescue excavation was undertaken by Mary Cahill. The human remains from the site were examined by Barra Ó Donnabháin.
Location (Fig. 3.210)
The cist was in the townland of Ballygillistown, west Co. Wexford.351 The site lay at an altitude of 30–60m above sea level and was being developed as a housing estate. No other Bronze Age burials are known from the townland, and none are marked on the SMR for Ordnance Survey 6in. sheet 25.
Description of site
The burial had been dug into a deposit of very fine sand and it was not possible to differentiate between the fill of the pit and the material into which it had been cut. The burial consisted of a vase urn inverted over or containing the cremated remains of a young adult (1984:261). The vessel had been damaged, particularly at the base, but has been reconstructed. Only a small quantity of human remains was present.
Vase urn, 1984:262 (Fig. 3.211)
A vase urn with slightly everted neck and pronounced shoulder. The fabric is reasonably fine and varies in colour from orange/red externally to dark grey/black internally. The vessel is decorated all over with impressed or incised decoration in bands, as follows.
Just below the rim is (1) a series of diagonally incised lines, varying from three to five, forming a row of uneven X-shapes. The next band (2) consists of one or two rows of combimpressed lines alternating with rows of oval impressions, ending just above the angle of the neck and body of the vessel. Below this is a row (3) of herringbone ornament formed by slanted, short, comb-impressed lines using the shoulder of the vessel as a base line. The next band (4) is an incised panel of uneven X-shapes formed as the first band but bordered by a row of comb impressions. The next band (5) consists of a panel of poorly executed lattice pattern executed with a single line. A plain incised line forms a border at the lower end. The sixth band consists of a series of incised chevrons formed by four parallel lines. The angle of one of the chevrons is cut by a group of four incised horizontal lines. This band is bordered by a plain incised line. From this point the base is plain.
The neck is also decorated internally in two sections: groups of incised lines in X-shaped patterns (as in band 1 on the external side) and a row of oval impressions are followed by a band of chevrons composed of groups of four incised lines.
The vessel is complete except for a small section of the lower body and the base. The base survives in a fragmentary condition in three substantial sherds.
Dimensions: max. surviving H 36cm; ext. D rim 31.2–31.3cm; D at shoulder 31.3cm; T rim 9.7mm; est. D base 14cm; T base 1.6cm.
Comment
A radiocarbon determination from charcoal produced a date of 3500±70 BP,352 which calibrates to 2022–1641 BC at 95.4% probability and places the vase urn in stage 2 of the development of this type of pottery (Brindley 2007, 278). Stage 2 vessels are described as having separate rims or necks and distinct shoulders. Brindley also suggests that vase urns of this type developed around 1900 BC and that the stage 2/stage 3 transition occurred at about 1830 BC, so that this type of urn had a currency of about 70 years, with Ballygillistown at the later end of the sequence.
HUMAN REMAINS
BARRA Ó DONNABHÁIN
Introduction
A small collection of cremated human bone (1984:261) was recovered from the vase urn found at the site. This 302.1g of bone appears to have been the entire cremation deposit. The remains are those of a younger adult of unknown sex.
Description of the remains
The deposit consists of about 400 fragments of bone. The fragments have an average size of about 20mm, though the longest piece of bone measures 55.7mm. Portions of long bones make up about 60% of the identified fragments, while the skull and thorax account for about 25% and 15% respectively. This may suggest a less than meticulous retrieval process, as the long bones tend to produce larger fragments than other body parts. Percentages such as these may suggest the retrieval of just the larger pieces of bone left as a result of cremation. The remains appear to be those of one individual.
Age and sex
It was not possible to determine the sex of this person. A combination of sutural and dental evidence (see below) suggests that this individual was a younger adult (18–30 years) at the time of death.
Dentition
The fragments of alveolar bone recovered indicate that the following teeth were present at death:
Seven tooth fragments were recovered, including the crowns of the upper left first and second molars. Apart from the exfoliation of the enamel, these crowns are intact; tooth wear was not marked as the cusps are still visible. These wear patterns probably indicate that this was a younger adult.
Pathology
No pathological changes or skeletal anomalies were noted in the remains
Firing
While most of the bone fragments were thoroughly calcined, some pieces were only scorched during the firing episode. Some of these scorched fragments have evidence of muscle shadowing, where areas of bone were protected from the fire by overlying soft tissue. One large parietal fragment is calcined on both the endo- and ectocranial surfaces but the diploë is only charred. This contrasts with the remainder of the cranial fragments, which are totally calcined. This pattern may indicate that the skull burst during the firing process and that fragments were scattered as a result. Some fragments of the maxillary and temporal bones were also incompletely burnt.
Conclusions
This small collection of bone contains the cremated remains of a younger adult of unknown sex. The bone was less efficiently burned than is usual in prehistoric cremations from Ireland. The bones may have been lightly crushed prior to their deposition in the urn, possibly simply to ensure that the remains fitted in the vessel.
There may also have been a retrieval bias in favour of long bone fragments. These would be the larger fragments left after a cremation and may reflect a less than meticulous recovery of bone. The presence in the deposit of small bones such as hand and foot phalanges, carpals and tarsals might militate against this argument. The entire deposit consisted of only 302.1g of burnt bone. It is possible that a comprehensive retrieval of remains did take place but that only a part of these were buried, the remainder being retained for some other purpose.
351. Parish of Rossdroit, barony of Bantry. SMR WX025-013——. IGR 292930 137100.
352. OxA-2661.
