County: Galway Site name: KEELOGUESBEG
Sites and Monuments Record No.: RMP 7:74D Licence number: 01E0361
Author: Michael Tierney, Eachtra Archaeological Projects
Site type: Metalworking site and Pit
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 570457m, N 767319m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.654813, -8.446904
Testing at the site of a proposed private dwelling, 30m from the edge of an early ecclesiastical enclosure containing the site of an early building, found two features that required excavation. The licence was upgraded and the remains of metalworking activity and a pit were recorded.
The pit feature was in the north-eastern corner of the footprint of the building. It was partly truncated by the machine, being visible in the section with 0.45m of the base being left in the cutting. It was overlain by 0.21m of mid-brown sandy silty clay topsoil and the sod. The feature varied from 0.1m to 0.25m in depth and consisted of one large layer of mid-greyish brown, silty clay, with frequent charcoal flecks and one small heat-shattered stone. There was a concentration of charcoal at the base of the feature.
A sherd of pottery of prehistoric or early medieval date was recovered. An oat grain was visible in the fabric of this fragment. Initial interpretation suggests a possible rubbish-pit of prehistoric/early medieval date. The homogeneous soil matrix may have been caused by the decay of organic material over an extended period of time.
At the southern end of the pit there were the remains of a stake-hole, underlying the charcoal concentration. It was 0.1m deep, with a sharp break of slope at the top, smooth tapering sides and a rounded base. The fill comprised a mid-brown sandy silt. It was cut into the natural, a mid-brown sandy clay.
The metalworking feature was in the south-eastern quadrant of the site. It comprised an oval-shaped feature, 0.5m by 0.3m, with a dark greyish black sandy silt and a high iron slag and charcoal content. Sixteen slag fragments were excavated, including two fragments of furnace bottom. The feature reached a maximum depth of 0.1m. It is probable that this is the truncated (in antiquity) remains of an early medieval bowl furnace.
Two deposits of burnt material or burnt soil were found 0.55m to the north and 1m east of this feature. The first was 0.4m by 0.25m and comprised a dark, brownish-pink silty clay with a maximum depth of 0.03m. This was the result of the subsoil’s being in contact with very hot materials. The second was 0.75m by 0.25m in size, comprising a black sandy silt with frequent charcoal flecks and occasional iron slag remains. These are more than likely to be the remains of materials cleaned out from the bowl furnace.
There was no stratigraphic relationship between the features. It is likely that the metalworking activity was synchronous with the early medieval ecclesiastical activity nearby. It is not unusual for such activity to take place on the periphery of settlement sites. This may be explained in terms of health and safety issues, owing to the noxious fumes created by smelting, or the danger of fire spreading. Smelting may also have been seen as symbolically dangerous and thus was separated from the other activity of the settlement.
It was recommended that further archaeological investigations were necessary.
River Oaks, Birr, Co. Offaly
