County: Wexford Site name: HARRISTOWN BIG
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 00E0425
Author: Michael Tierney, Eachtra Archaeological Projects
Site type: Habitation site
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
ITM: E 692230m, N 623250m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.353074, -6.646109
Eachtra Archaeological Projects excavated this site (c. 200m from No. 1060 Excavations 2000) as part of a programme of monitoring and testing for Wexford County Council (see Excavations 2000, No. 1068 for scope of works). The site was found during pre-development test-trenching, which exposed a small area of prehistoric activity that seemed to be centred around a hearth. The kidney-shaped hearth was 1.4m north–south and 1.2m wide. Around this, within an arc of 4m, lay sixteen small pits, post- and stake-holes. Three of these features contained the remains of prehistoric pottery, which has been given a broad Bronze Age date. The pit fills could be best described as odd. Good evidence was found for deliberate backfilling with materials not easily sourced around the site. For example, one pit (0.8m north–south and 0.51m wide) had a primary fill that comprised water-rolled stones, which may have come from the coast c. 16km away to the south.
Two of the pottery finds had the appearance of being clay crucibles (Ó Faoláin 1997). No other evidence of Bronze Age metalworking was found at this site, which was cleared up to 20m all around for related archaeological activity. Initial post-excavation interpretation suggests that the site was a small, Late Bronze Age ritual activity area, possibly involving the reuse of material originally used in metalworking contexts.
Reference
Ó Faoláin, S. 1997 A survey of bronze artefact production in Late Bronze Age Ireland. Unpublished MA thesis. National University of Ireland, Galway.
Riveroaks, Riverstown, Birr, Co. Offaly
