1989:055 - GREENHILLS, Kildare

Excavation was required here owing to the proposed construction of the Kilcullen Link Motorway scheme. During the second season at this site a series of features and more skeletal material were uncovered. It was executed along with No. 56 (Excavations 1989) during a nine-week season early in the year. An additional 9 skeletons were uncovered giving a total of 16 individuals for the burial ground. The possibility does exist that further burials were present, but that they have not survived owing to their unprotected nature. Of the 16 burials, 12 were articulated, 3 partially represented and 1 identified by skull fragments. Two of the burials were of children. Both male and female adults were represented. All the burials were deposited in simple shallow pits cut directly into the sand. They were unaccompanied. All were recovered at a depth of between 0.3m and 0.6m below the surface. The orientation merits attention. While most of the burials had a west-east orientation, with the head at west, there was a trend in some examples to veer towards north-east and south-east. In some examples an outline of stones surrounded the deposits. Some of the burial pits contained a thin layer of charcoal between the skeleton and the stone surround.

North of the burials the remains of a hearth were discovered. This appeared as an oval-shaped area of charcoal and oxidised clay, measuring 0.75m x 0.6m. Its fill consisted of two layers, the basal layer of gravel and ash, and the upper layer of charcoal-rich soil. A penannular enclosure was uncovered to the south of the main burial area. Two burials lay within this feature, of an adult and child. The feature measured 8m in diameter and was represented by a ditch with a wide U-shaped profile. The fill consisted of a homogeneous clay. No finds were recovered from the fill. The entrance area was located at the south-west of the feature, and, slightly to the south of this, a series of seven post-holes was located. These did not form any discernible pattern.

An extensive linear feature was uncovered running in a north-south direction across the gravel ridge. It measured 156.5m in excavated length, and was represented by a ditch with a maximum width of 3m. The ditch contained two layers of fill, both of which were obvious on the surface. The basal layer consisted of a brown homogeneous clay, and the upper layer, which was cut directly into this, consisted of a charcoal-rich silty soil with scattered pockets of bone, both burnt and unburnt. The feature may represent an old land boundary. Finds from this feature include a polished stone axehead (metamorphic slate) and a tanged iron knife, both of which came from the upper level. Specialist studies on the skeletal material are currently taking place. An early Iron Age date is suggested on the basis of comparative material. Both reports to be published in 1991, in the Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society.

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