2000:0523 - CASTLETOWN, Kilkenny

Monitoring of topsoil-stripping and associated plant excavations was carried out at the Arcon Mines, Galmoy, Co. Kilkenny, between November 1999 and March 2000 (see Excavations 2000,  No. 520). The topsoil-stripping formed part of the works associated with the construction of a new tailings pond at the mine. During the construction of the first tailings pond in 1996 a number of fulachta fiadh/burnt mounds were recorded, as well as a corn-drying kiln with associated industrial activity. In January 2000 a further three burnt mound sites were identified, and the following is a summary of the excavation of one of these.

The site was located in the north of the site, within the main borrow area, 250m (approx.) to the west of Coady’s Castle (SMR 3:4.1–5). The site was initially identified as a large spread of blackened and fire-shattered stone immediately beneath the topsoil. The spread extended c. 16m east–west and up to 14m north–south. Preliminary investigation of the site indicated the presence of a probable trough and a number of pits and gullies that cut the mound material.

The trough was located relatively centrally within the area of the mound. It was subrectangular in plan and orientated roughly north-west/south-east. The full area of the trough could not be identified as its north-western end had been removed by later activity. The excavated area of the trough measured a maximum of 1.5m by 1.5m. The trough was c. 0.4m deep, but it was not flat-bottomed and in places was up to 0.6m deep. There was no evidence of any surviving walling around the trough. It is likely that it was originally walled, and three stake-holes in the base of the trough at its south-east end may have been used to support plank/timber lining. The trough was filled with one deposit that was very similar in content to the general spread of the mound. This deposit would appear to have represented the deliberate backfilling of the trough.

The hearth area was located at the south-east end of the trough. It consisted of a subrectangular area measuring 1.38m by 1m (max.). The hearth was in a shallow depression in the subsoil, but it is probable that this depression was caused by the heat and the weight of the fire drying out the underlying subsoil. A number of shallow indentations in the hearth area, particularly in the southern end, could have been caused by stone kerbing/flooring. If the hearth had originally been floored or kerbed, these stones had been removed in antiquity. There was a high concentration of ash and charcoal in the vicinity of the hearth, and this was mixed with deposits of burnt mound material. The subsoil around the sides and base of the hearth showed evidence of scorching.

A large oblong pit was recorded to the north-west of the trough and hearth. The pit had a very irregular shape but had maximum dimensions of 5.3m by 2.3m and was orientated north-west/south-east. It was shallowest at the north-west end with a depth of 0.3m but deepened to 0.7m at the south-east end. The pit was filled with grey, silty clay with a high concentration of heat-shattered stone that was sealed by a deposit of dark brown, silty soil/clay that also had a high concentration of heat-shattered stone. The function of the pit was unclear, and there were no finds from it to indicate a date. The pit appeared to be later than the fulacht fiadh, although it was sealed by some of the burnt mound material, but this could have been spread across the site over a period of time.

The mound of heat-shattered stone debris around the site of the fulacht fiadh probably originally took the form of the classic horseshoe shape, with the trough being located centrally within the arms of the horseshoe. No actual mound survived on site, having been ploughed out/levelled. The mound material was identified as a large spread of blackened soil and fire-shattered stone immediately beneath the topsoil. The spread had a maximum depth of 0.25m. At its edges the spread was only 0.01–0.02m deep. The heat-shattered stone was on average 0.1m in diameter and consisted roughly of 80% sandstone and 20% limestone.

A series of shallow gullies was identified across the site. All of these features cut through the mound material and the natural subsoil. There was a concentration of these gullies in the south-east corner of the site; another extended across the middle of the site, cutting the trough, and there was a further, right-angled gully at the northern end of the site. They varied in width from 0.5m to over 1m and in depth from 0.22m to 0.5m. It is unclear what the exact function of these features was, but it is likely that they were associated with drainage. There were no finds from any of the gullies to indicate date.

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