2001:833 - BALGATHERAN SITE 4, Louth

Kieran Campbell and Richard Jennings identified this site during the monitoring of topsoil-stripping in advance of the construction of the Northern Motorway (Drogheda Bypass). It lay some five miles to the south-west of the Boyne Valley on the top of a hill (100m OD) overlooking a number of barrows, fulachta fiadh, possible standing stones and an early Neolithic settlement site at Coolfore (Excavations 2000, No. 649, 00E0794).

An area 32m by 26m at the top of the hill was the main focus of the excavation, though there were a number of other features c. 100m downslope. Five structures were discovered (Structures A–E), along with a scatter of hearths and pits.

This summary describes the individual structures and makes some general interpretative comments, though at the time of writing much of the specialist analysis still awaits completion.

Structure A
Four large post-pits, presumably roof supports, formed a rectangular building 3.7m by 3.2m, and a clearly defined entrance and façade were orientated to the south-east. There was a small hearth in the exact centre of the structure and three of the post-pits showed evidence for adjacent in situ burning, probably related to the destruction phase of the building. This phase is also represented by the infilling of the post-pits after the posts were removed. A large number of artefacts were incorporated with the infill, including Grooved Ware pottery (a minimum of three vessels), convex scrapers, a polished stone axe fragment and numerous pieces of flint débitage.

The building is interpreted, tentatively, as a domestic dwelling because of the presence of a central hearth (which is assumed to be contemporary), the structure’s morphology and the domestic character of the associated artefactual assemblage. There may have been a symbolic element in the deposition of the many high-quality lithics and the polished stone axe in the post-pit infills, a situation with good parallels elsewhere in Ireland (e.g. Ballynahatty, Co. Down) and Britain (e.g. Durrington Walls). An alternative interpretation of the structure is that it was the central element of a truncated timber circle similar to those found at Knowth, Ballynahatty, Bettystown and possibly Structure C on this site, though the presence of a hearth and the absence of encircling post-pits makes the former interpretation more likely (Eogan and Roche 1994; ‘Bettystown’, excavated by James Eogan, Excavations 1998, No. 503, 98E0072; Hartwell 1991).

Structure B
Four post-pits formed a small rectangular building, 2.5m by 2.4m, flanked on either side by a single post-pit and a porch-like entrance projecting to the east. A large hearth is probably associated with this building rather than the later overlying Structure D because of its central position in Structure B. A small quantity of Grooved Ware pottery and some lithics were associated with the building, and burnt animal bone was found in the hearth. The presence of a hearth and the domestic character of many of the artefacts make the structure’s interpretation as a domestic building likely.

Structure C
Four large post-pits formed a rectangle, 3.5m by 3m, which was encircled by nine post-pits forming an oval shape with maximum dimensions of 6.5m by 5.7m. There was a gap in the south-western arc of the circle, though this was probably caused by plough truncation. A porch-like entrance projected to the east-south-east. Most of the posts were removed and the post-holes filled with what appeared to have been secondary waste. A large quantity of artefacts was incorporated in the infill, including Grooved Ware pottery (a minimum of sixteen vessels), convex scrapers, a polished stone axe fragment and numerous pieces of flint débitage. There was some evidence, particularly from the post-pits where the posts had rotted in situ, that pottery and lithics were deliberately and perhaps symbolically deposited in a structured manner.

The building is interpreted, somewhat tentatively, as a timber circle because of the morphology of the structure, the association with Grooved Ware pottery and what appeared to have been the deliberate ritual deposition of artefacts, the absence of a hearth and the marked similarities between the structure and what have been interpreted as timber circles at Knowth and Ballynahatty (Eogan and Roche 1994; Hartwell 1991). An alternative interpretation would be that the structure was used as a domestic dwelling, though the absence of a hearth and the similarities to Knowth and Ballynahatty make the former interpretation more likely.

Structure D
A shallow rectangular trench enclosing an area 4m by 3.5m defined this structure, which incorporated Structure B. A small quantity of possibly residual Grooved Ware pottery was found in the trench fill, which was a very homogeneous dark brown silty clay. No post-pits were associated with this structure and it is uncertain what its function may have been. The nature of the trench fill might suggest that the trench was the foundation for a mud-walled building. Micromorphological analysis of the fill might provide a clue.

Structure E
This isolated structure lay some 100m downslope from the top of the hill. Most of the structure had been truncated prior to the commencement of excavations and all that survived was a section of foundation trench very similar to Structure D. No artefacts were recovered.

The finds
All the pottery from prehistoric contexts has been identified by Anna Brindley as Dundrum– Longstone-type Grooved Ware. A total of 238 sherds were recovered from 47 contexts, and at least 23 individual pots were identified, many of which were decorated with parallel grooved lines both on the exterior and interior of the vessels. The pottery compares closely to that found at the timber circles at Ballynahatty, Co. Down, Bettystown, Co. Meath, and Knowth, Co. Meath (Eogan and Roche 1994; Hartwell 1991; Excavations 1998, No. 503), though a large applied and pierced horizontal lug has no known parallel at present.

Some 800 lithics were found, the majority of which were flint débitage. Scrapers almost completely dominated the tool types, with thirty being recovered. At the time of writing the lithics have not yet been fully analysed.

A small quantity of burnt bone was also recovered. Macroscopic examination of this by E.J. Evans suggests that it was almost all animal bone, with one possible exception which may be human.

Conclusion
The association of Structures A–C with Dundrum–Longstone Grooved Ware makes a date in the latter part of the late Neolithic for the structures likely, though the form of the calibration curve during the period 4500–4000 BP (radiocarbon years) or 3000–2500 cal. BC (calendar years) means that closer dating is not possible at present. If confirmed, and a domestic interpretation is accepted, this excavation will have added greatly to our knowledge of settlement form in the late Neolithic, about which there is virtually nothing known at present.

References
Eogan, G. and Roche, H. 1994 A Grooved Ware wooden structure at Knowth, Boyne Valley, Ireland. Antiquity 69, 322–33.
Hartwell, B. 1991 Ballynahatty, a prehistoric ceremonial centre. Archaeology Ireland 5 (4), 12–15.

6 Riverview, Ardnore, Kilkenny