County: Limerick Site name: BALLINGAYROUR (BGE 3/77/7–9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E0396
Author: Brian Halpin, for Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Flat cemetery, Pit and Cremation pit
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 561016m, N 634244m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.458260, -8.573603
Topsoil-stripping on Bord Gáis Éireann’s Pipeline to the West uncovered seven independent, possibly associated, Bronze Age sites in Ballingayrour townland, Co. Limerick. All were near each other along the length of the pipeline corridor and were therefore given the same licence number.
BGE 3/77/7
On investigation, nothing of archaeological significance was encountered here.
BGE 3/77/8
A series of fourteen charcoal-rich features identified as Bronze Age cremation pits was revealed during topsoil-stripping. This site was 12.2m east of BGE 3/77/9 and 9m west of BGE 3/77/7. There were two areas of interest adjacent to each other. The first contained eleven features, and the second, 2.8m to the east, contained three further features of almost identical size and content. The pits ranged in size from 0.24m to 0.56m, and all were circular, steep sided, U-shaped and cut into the yellow/orange boulder-clay subsoil. A charcoal-rich fill, containing inclusions of varying amounts of burnt bone, characterised the content of the cremation pits. Most of the bone had been bleached white during the cremation process and was in minute fragments, with the few larger pieces measuring no more than 0.02m.
Worked lithics, most probably votive offerings, were recovered from a number of the pits. Feature 9 contained a chert end scraper; Feature 14 contained a piece of worked chert; Feature 5 contained a chert, barbed and tanged arrowhead and a flint, leaf-shaped arrowhead. Although a number of the features contained offerings, most did not.
The site can be described as an area of Bronze Age ritual deposition in a landscape rich in Bronze Age sites.
BGE 3/77/9
This site was 13.4m west of BGE 3/77/8. Here four irregularly shaped pits were encountered. They varied in size, the largest having a diameter of 0.8m and the smallest 0.12m. They were generally subcircular and U-shaped, except for one, which was steep sided and V-shaped and was interpreted as a possible post-hole. The other pits were thought to have been possible single-use cooking places, with a high concentration of charcoal on the base but with natural deposition comprising the remainder of the fill. Chert debitage and a possible hammerstone were recovered from the features, along with a fragment of worked chert.
BGE 3/77/12
On investigation, nothing of archaeological significance was encountered here.
BGE 3/77/13
On investigation, nothing of archaeological significance was encountered here.
BGE 3/77/15
A single pit measuring 1m north–south by 1.65m was encountered. It was a shallow curvilinear pit cut into the yellow/orange boulder-clay subsoil. The cut was 0.2m deep. The fill was a dark grey, silty clay with moderate amounts of charcoal and charcoal flecking. Two fragments of debitage, one chert and the other flint, were recovered, along with a burnt flint end scraper. These finds indicate a Neolithic or possible Bronze Age date. No signs of in situ burning were encountered, although, owing to the grey discoloration and frequent inclusions of charcoal, it is probable that that this was a single-use hearth that was not burning for an extended period of time or with enough intensity to discolour the surrounding clay subsoil permanently.
BGE 3/77/16
A large cremation pit was encountered. This was by far the largest pit found in this landscape of Bronze Age cremations. It measured 1.11m north–south by 0.8m and was characterised by a relatively shallow (0.19m), uneven, U-shaped cut into the yellow/ orange boulder clay subsoil. The cut was subcircular, with a large percentage of medium-sized stones throughout. There were two layers of fill. The upper was a black, peaty, silty clay with frequent inclusions of charcoal and burnt bone. The lower fill was a dark brown, sandy clay with moderate amounts of charcoal and burnt bone. The amount of burnt bone recovered from this feature was quite large compared to the other cremation pits encountered. Although the other cremation pits had small or minute fragments of cremated bone, this feature contained large, intact pieces of varying sizes. It is not known yet whether this is the cremated remains of one or more individuals. Minor fragments of coarseware were recovered.
BGE 3/77/19
On investigation, nothing of archaeological significance was encountered here.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
