County: Limerick Site name: DUNTRYLEAGUE (BGE)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Eoin Grogan
Site type: Barrow - ditch barrow
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
ITM: E 576055m, N 627749m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.400751, -8.351863
The first feature revealed was part of the outline of a ring-barrow extending onto the corridor from the fence line. Machine skimming of the surrounding area (which removed a further 5-10cm of topsoil) revealed the majority of the features excavated. Two further ditch features were revealed after trenching in an area which was not accessible during excavation.
The ring-ditch
There were two main features, a central ring-ditch contained within a ditched enclosure, along with a complex of features including a hearth pit containing coarse undecorated pottery, eight further pits and twenty-two post and stakeholes.
Only one third of the ring-ditch was available for excavation. It was defined by a gapped trench enclosing part of a circle roughly 7m in diameter. It was 24-56cm wide and c. 40cm deep. Two gaps occurred in the excavated portion, one of which (48cm wide) was spanned by a narrow slot trench. The second gap was at least 1m wide extending beyond the fence line.Within the enclosed area, c. 30cm from the inner ditch edge, was a concentric trench, forming part of a possible discontinuous inner ditch.
A very small sample of unidentifiable fragments of burnt bone was recovered from the outer ditch fill, along with two small sherds of coarse undecorated pottery.The outer enclosure ditch appeared to be a contemporary feature. The exposed portion described roughly one quarter of a circular or oval enclosure with a diameter of approximately 20m. It was 80cm in maximum width and 30cm deep.The hearth pit within this feature and lying 5.5m from the ring-ditch measured 64cm x 59cm x 6cm and had a charcoal-rich fill of clay and heat-shattered stones. Ten sherds of coarse undecorated pottery were recovered from the fill.
One of the eight pits (73cm x 45cm x 33cm) contained a substantial portion of a single coarse undecorated pot.
The post and stakeholes within the enclosure formed no interpretable plan. While the hearth may represent some domestic activity, it would appear to be ancillary to the overall ritual nature of the site.
Curvilinear ditch
This lies 5m north-east of the enclosure ditch described above. The features revealed were two discontinuous and partly conjoined, concentric ditches describing roughly half a circle 6.5m in diameter.The outer ditch was completely exposed and made up an arc representing about one quarter of a circle 6m in external diameter and was 6m long, 80cm wide and 24-30cm deep. The fill yielded rare, tiny flecks of cremated bone. The surviving stratigraphy indicated that the features had been truncated by agricultural activity.
The main body of the inner ditch lay c. 10cm inside the outer ditch, but they were effectively conjoined. While the eastern terminal of the ditch had been removed by the trenching, it represented roughly one third of a circle 6m in external diameter. It was 70-80cm wide and 23cm deep. The fill yielded a small quantity of cremated bone.
Following the curve of the inner ditch and immediately east of it was a pit 1.5m x 1.2m x 15cm. Its two layers of fill yielded small quantities of cremated bone It was not possible to identify any of the burnt bone as either human or animal. Two small sherds representing two different pots were recovered from the inner ditch fill. The similarity in layout and fill of these features indicates a possible association between the two sites.
5 St Catherine's Rd, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
