2001:1035 - RATHMULLAN: Site 10, Meath

The site is one of a series of potential prehistoric sites identified during pre-development testing along the route of the Northern Motorway, Contract 7. Excavation of the site began in November 2000 and was completed in March 2001; a short note on the work in progress was submitted to Excavations 2000 (No. 775).

Site 10 was on the brow of a low rise 500–600m south of the Donore Road in the townland of Rathmullan, Co. Meath. The site had clear and unobstructed views north as far as the Donore Road and south as far as the Dublin to Belfast railway line. It could be said to have had a commanding position in the landscape, at least given the generally low-lying nature of the surrounding countryside. It was intervisible with Sites 12, 13, 14, 15/16 and 17 to the south.

The site consisted of a series of small pits and post-holes, with no overall delimiting feature or structure. Indeed, identification of any structures was hampered by the fact that it was transected by a modern field boundary ditch, which cuts through what appears to be the central focus of the site. Three main phases of early Bronze Age activity have been identified to date. As there was very little clear vertical stratigraphy at the site (there were very few significant intercutting features), the phasing of material is based as much on the nature of the artefacts and the relative composition and situation of the various deposits as upon direct stratigraphic relationships. Fortunately a large proportion of the contexts at the site produced prehistoric pottery types. Provisional identification suggests the presence of Beaker, Food Vessel and Collared or Cordoned Urn pottery. It is hoped that expert analysis of this material will help to further refine the chronology and phasing of activity at the site.

Phase I
The earliest phase of activity was characterised by a series of features and deposits which produced Beaker-type pottery. This activity was concentrated in the south central area of the site. The most significant feature was a series of overlying spreads of occupation material towards the centre of the site. There were three main levels to this occupation material, and all were characterised by the presence of large quantities of Beaker-type pottery, as well as charcoal and flecks of cremated bone.

Towards the base of the primary level was a concentration of small stones packed tightly in a subcircular pattern which may be the remains of a metalled surface. The secondary level of the occupation spread was characterised by a series of very shallow and generally linear cuts into the primary layer. In addition to the range of Beaker-type pottery and struck flint typical of this level, the fill of the easternmost of these shallow cuts also produced a Beaker wrist-bracer. A number of feet from polypod vessels were also recovered from this level of the occupation spread, including one adjacent to the wrist-bracer.

The tertiary level of the occupation spread was characterised by a layer of grey to dark grey clay with frequent charcoal flecks. The occupation spread was truncated on the north by a modern field boundary ditch, and on the south by a post-medieval linear cut. It was also truncated slightly on the east by an alignment of large post-holes relating to Phase II of the site.

This Beaker occupation spread appears to be the earliest surviving feature at the site. Though it seems to have had three separate levels, the consistency of the material suggests a single phase of activity. It is possible that the present differentiation in the deposit is the result of post-depositional processes. Certainly, the shallow cuts which characterise the secondary level seem unlikely to represent deliberate actions. The fills of all the cuts were very similar, and the cuts themselves were only really well defined in section and proved hard to trace and excavate in plan. Their shape and orientation suggest that their present condition may be the result of later agricultural activity (probably ploughing). However, greater analysis of the material is required before such conclusions can be drawn.

To the south and west of the occupation spread was a series of disparate pits, post-holes and stake-holes with no discernible pattern, several of which were sealed by C99, a rough metalled surface relating to Phase II.

To the north-east of the occupation spread was a substantial rounded post-hole which had been partially recut for use as a pit. The surviving dimensions of the post-hole suggest a post 0.5–0.75m in diameter and several metres high. It does not appear to form part of any structure, and so presumably was free-standing. It is difficult to see any practical value for such a post, and this would suggest that it had a symbolic function. This is not to imply that the overall function of the site was ritual, as it is possible for features to fulfil a ritual or symbolic function within a domestic context. It is also clear that the post was deliberately removed and the post-hole allowed to silt up before being recut for use as a pit. This later pit appeared to have been partially lined with charcoal (though there was no evidence for in situ burning) and produced a number of sherds of Beaker-type pottery.

Phase II
The second phase was characterised by a series of features, some of which clearly sealed or truncated Phase I. The other defining characteristic of these features was a tendency to produce a wide variety of early Bronze Age pottery types, including Beaker, Food Vessel and Urn-type pottery. However, the attribution of many of the contexts to this phase of activity is, at present, quite tentative, and it is very probable that as analysis of the material recovered continues, many of the contexts presently assigned to Phase II will be reassessed.

There was an array of small pits and post-holes spread across the south-west and south of the site which appear to relate to this phase of activity, as well as a rough metalled surface to the south-west of the Phase I occupation spread. Arcs of stake-holes were noted in the north-eastern and western edges of the site. Though these may be the remains of an enclosing palisade (or series of palisades), they could not be traced across the south of the site, so this cannot be clearly ascertained.

The two most significant features relating to this phase of activity were an alignment of large posts towards the centre of the site and a possible circular structure in the east of the site.
The alignment of large post-holes ran north-west–south-east, from the southern edge of the modern field boundary ditch (at the point where it turned to the north) down to the northern edge of the post-medieval linear cut. The alignment then arced around to run roughly east–west, with the remainder of the surviving posts being partially truncated by the post-medieval cut. A total of fifteen post-holes were identified in the alignment.

It is unclear at present exactly what kind of structure is represented by the alignment. The best-preserved examples average 0.5m in depth, implying that the original posts stood to over 1m in height, and the size of the few surviving post-pipes would suggest a diameter of between 0.25m and 0.35m. There is certainly a superficial similarity to structure 12 at Chancellorsland, Co. Tipperary (Doody 2000) — a subrectangular building defined by closely spaced large posts. However, the surviving alignment at Site 10 could only represent one or two walls of such a structure, and, even allowing for the level of modern disturbance at the site, the surrounding features do not indicate sufficient truncation to account for the loss of the remainder of such a structure.

It is possible that the remainder of the structure may have been of less substantial construction, and it is also possible that it may not represent the remains of a house at all. The only thing that can be said with any certainty regarding this structure is that it was deliberately removed. The fills of the post-holes, in particular those where a post-pipe survives, do not indicate that the posts were allowed to decay in situ. These fills were characterised by the presence of charcoal flecking, burnt bone fragments, pottery and struck flint — material consistent with deliberate backfilling. In the examples where the post-pipe survives it would appear that the posts were sufficiently loose to be pulled out. In the case of the remaining posts, it is possible that they were so firmly set that they had to be dug out; it is also possible that the packing in these examples collapsed into the post-holes when the post was removed, mixing with and becoming indistinguishable from the backfill material. The other interesting aspect of these post-holes, which also relates to their removal and backfill, is the presence of a variety of pottery types. Some produced clearly Beaker pottery, others Collared or Cordoned Urn, as well as various combinations of Beaker and Urn-type pottery. In terms of conventional Bronze Age chronology this makes little sense, as many of these types are not considered to be contemporary. However, if the backfill material was being drawn from what was readily to hand, it may be that varying layers of debris from different occupation phases were used to backfill the post-holes. As the alignment is situated beside and cuts through part of the Beaker occupation spread, it is certainly possible that the presence of Beaker material is the result of the disturbance of these deposits.

Further post-holes of similar morphology were recorded in the northern side of the modern field boundary ditch and also c. 10m to the west; unfortunately it is not possible to say how or whether these features relate to the main alignment.

The most significant feature identified was situated in the east of the site. It was primarily composed of three curving trenches on a roughly circular alignment (C136, C109/C57 and C292), one of which (C292) contained evidence for a series of stake-holes. When these were viewed in conjunction with the small pits or possible post-holes in the same area, the outline of a potential circular structure emerged. Only the easternmost slot-trench, C292, displays any clear indication of the nature of the structure, with the presence of a series of small stake-holes suggesting a structure with a light stake construction, though there is no clear evidence for internal roof supports.

Again it would appear that the structure was deliberately dismantled. There was no evidence for internal stakes or posts within either C136 or C109/C57, and, like the post-holes in grid square 11, they appear to have been deliberately backfilled. It is possible that whatever superstructure was supported by these two trenches was actually dug out, whereas the superstructure supported by C292 was pulled out, preserving the position of many of the stakes. C109/C57 at least was allowed to stand open for a time and had begun to silt up naturally before being deliberately backfilled. Also it is unclear which, if any, of the gaps between the three trenches represents the entrance to the structure. Certainly, the gap between C292 and C109/C57 is the larger of the two and is probably the best candidate for the entrance. It is also most directly opposite the section of the ground-plan formed by small discrete pits or post-holes, which would provide a parallel to the Bronze Age structure excavated at Site 15/16 to the south (Emmett Stafford, pers. comm.). However, it is worth noting that this structure was much better defined, with a far greater proportion of its ground-plan defined by slot-trenches, and there was only one obvious gap for the entrance. It is possible that the structure at Site 10 did not encompass a complete circle and also that it had more than one entrance gap. Hopefully further analysis of the site and examination of potential parallels at other sites will clarify this issue.

Phase III
The third phase was characterised by a series of features which tended to produce Urn-type pottery. The best evidence for this phase of activity was concentrated in the south of the site, with one isolated feature in the north-eastern area. The most substantial features relating to this phase were a series of large pits in the south-west of the site. To date, both Collared and Cordoned Urn have been provisionally identified amongst the pottery recovered from the various fills, and several large feet from polypod vessels were also recovered.

To the east of these pits, several smaller pits or post-holes had been cut into C99, the Phase II metalled surface. In the north-east of the site was a medium-sized pit (C209) which had been partially truncated by a modern field drain. Towards the southern edge of C209 a later possible post-hole was identified. It was subrounded with steeply sloping sides and a rounded base, and was filled with a dark-greyish black charcoal-rich silty clay which produced two sherds of early Bronze Age pottery and a single piece of worked flint.

Discussion
The results of the excavation indicate that it was a multi-phase early Bronze Age site. To date, three main phases of Bronze Age activity have been identified, and preliminary analysis of the material suggests that activity at the site ranged over a considerable period of the earlier Bronze Age.

The best dating evidence at present comes from the pottery remains, which appear to indicate an early Bronze Age date, ranging between the late third and early second millennia BC. However, taking into account the furthest extremes of the most recent date ranges suggested for the various pottery forms would suggest a period of use for Site 10 stretching over almost a millennium (Brindley and Lanting 1995), and this does seem slightly unrealistic. The amount of surviving material does not justify such an interpretation at this stage in the analysis. Neither does the nature of the deposits at the site suggest that periods of abandonment separated the phases of occupation. The nature of the surviving material is strongly suggestive of continuous occupation or usage. However, given the range of material recovered from the site and in the absence of radiocarbon dates, the estimated period of usage of the site cannot at present be reduced to any less than several centuries.

While the interpretation of Site 10 still poses many problems, at present the evidence would appear to favour a domestic interpretation. There is no evidence for funerary activity at the site, and it is difficult at this stage in the analysis of the material to arrive at sufficient evidence to indicate ritual activity. Certainly the quantity and variety of pottery finds and the presence of a number of rare finds, such as the remains of polypod vessels and the Beaker wrist-bracer, would indicate a rich or possibly high-status site. Unfortunately the evidence for structures at the site is particularly poor. However, as is clear from the finds recovered, the site was in use for a considerable period of the earlier Bronze Age, and since at least three clear phases of occupation have been identified to date, it is possible that the continuous use of the site may have served to obscure some of the structural evidence.

A curious fact at the site is the complete lack of evidence for any hearths, or any other indications of in situ burning, despite the presence of large quantities of charcoal and burnt material in the various deposits.

Less than 100m to the south of Site 10 was a Beaker habitation site (Site 12, see No. 1036 Excavations 2001), which also produced a rich array of Beaker material, including the remains of a number of polypod vessels. It is quite probable that this site and the Phase I activity at Site 10 were broadly contemporary, and given their proximity it is possible that they may represent neighbouring domestic sites. As analysis of the material from both sites progresses, it will hopefully be possible to discuss any possible relationship between the two sites in more detail.

References
Brindley, A.L. and Lanting, J. 1995 Radiocarbon, chronology and the Bronze Age. In J. Waddell and E. Shee Twohig (eds), Ireland in the Bronze Age, 4–13. Dublin.
Doody, M. 2000 Bronze Age houses. In A. Desmond, G. Johnson et al. (eds), New agendas in Irish prehistory, 135–60. Bray.

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