County: Clare Site name: CARRIGORAN (Area 18)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0337
Author: Billy Quinn, Archaeological Services Unit Ltd.
Site type: Kiln - corn-drying
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 538355m, N 667360m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.753784, -8.913171
Monitoring in Area 18 as part of the N18/N19 (Ballycasey to Dromoland) Road Improvement Scheme exposed a kiln feature.
The site originally presented itself as an amorphous feature of varying deposits with a single, earth-covered lintel. Subsequent excavation showed the kiln to be keyhole-shaped in plan, consisting of a prepared hollow lined with randomly coursed limestone slabs. The kiln, 5.6m long, consisted of three components: a subcircular fire-bowl connecting a lintelled flue that tapered towards a circular drying chamber. It was orientated north-west/south-east, with the fire-bowl towards the north-west, aligned to take advantage of the prevailing winds. The flue was 2m in length and was built in an arc terminating at either end in circular cuts. The cut for the fire-bowl was larger and less regular than the drying chamber and had an approximate diameter of 2.2m. The drying chamber was 1.3m in diameter with a maximum depth of 0.68m. Both the flue and the drying chamber were of similar construction, consisting of randomly coursed, roughly hewn limestone slabs. The walls of the kiln were inwardly sloping, resulting in an evenly curved surface in the drying chamber with a slight batter on the flue walls. The flue and drying chamber were of drystone construction. From wall to wall the flue had an average width of 0.75m with a maximum depth of 0.6m.
Only two roughly shaped intact lintel stones were found covering the flue. Both stones were c. 1m long x 0.4m wide with an average thickness of 0.12m.
The upper internal fills in the flue and the drying chamber were a matrix of tumbled stone, redeposited backfill and natural silting, all of which were deposited after the kiln ceased to function.
Contemporary with the kiln’s active life was the base layer, a dark mottled grey/black silt with frequent inclusions of charcoal flecks and ash. There were no finds retrieved either from the kiln’s construction phase or from the redeposited internal fills. Dating evidence is dependent on the positive results of soil samples taken from the base of the kiln.
Editor’s note: The summary of this excavation, which was carried out during 1999, arrived too late for publication in the bulletin of that year.
Purcell House, Oranmore, Co. Galway
