County: Tipperary Site name: KNOCKAUNKENNEDY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0472
Author: Richard N. O'Brien, Archaeological Development Services Ltd, Windsor House
Site type: Fulacht fia
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
ITM: E 590252m, N 677739m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.850490, -8.144711
The site was in Knockaunkennedy townland, c. 3 miles east of Nenagh town, Co. Tipperary, c. 1 mile south of the N7. A large trivallate ringfort in Curraheen townland lies c. 170m north of the site, the prehistoric ditches in Knockalton Lower townland (No. 605, Excavations 1998) lay c. 150m west of it. The site consisted of a low, burnt stone mound (Site A), with an adjacent spread of burnt stone material (Site B). The sites lay on marshland prone to flooding from a nearby stream.
Site A measured c. 16m x 9m with a c. 0.3–0.4m depth of burnt and heat-shattered stones. A 2m-wide machine-dug section was put through the burnt mound material. Further hand-excavation revealed an unlined rectangular trough filled with burnt stones, cut into natural. This trough measured 2.4m x 1.2m and was 0.32m deep. A post-hole was found at each internal corner of the trough edges. A possible pot boiler feature was 'attached' to the north-west edge of the trough, and beside this was a shallow linear cut-the remains of a windbreak. A number of additional pits and/or smaller troughs were cut into natural at the north-east and east edges of the mound; these features generally contained a basal fill of peat covered by burnt stones.
Site B lay c. 10m east-south-east of Site A and consisted of a roughly oval spread of burnt stones. It measured c. 11m x 9m with a c. 0.2m depth of burnt stones and peat. The centre of Site B was truncated by a number of modern field drains. The owner of the land knew of the existence of these burnt areas, saying that there was 'a nest of them here'. His family had carried out irrigation work in the area and had previously levelled some of the burnt stone material. This may account for the absence of a higher burnt mound on Site B.
A number of pits/small troughs filled with peat were found beneath the burnt stone material on Site B. There was further evidence of clusters of stake-holes around these pits/troughs. Although the central trough on the site had been truncated by a field drain, a number of deep post-holes within the trough edges were found. This closely resembled the main trough found on Site A.
The area between both sites consisted of a sterile, grey/white marl clay. There was further evidence of pits/troughs and series of stake-hole clusters cut into the marl clay. The northern area between both sites had a metalled stone surface surrounding some of the pits, perhaps indicative of connecting pathways. Finds from both sites consisted of small quantities of animal bone and teeth, some chert flakes, unworked wood and charcoal.
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