2002:1201 - KILTENAN SOUTH (BGE 3/63/4), Limerick

The site was exposed during monitoring of topsoil-stripping along Section 3 of the Bord Gáis Éireann Pipeline to the West, from Goatisland, Co. Limerick, to Gort, Co. Galway; it was c. 200m south of a local road connecting Finniterstown and Kiltenan South.

Eleven contexts were excavated, with two possible phases. Two finds of burnt bone were taken from separate contexts. The first phase included two features. The smaller was a subcircular pit, measuring 0.22m north-west/south-east by 0.15m by 0.13m deep, and was considered to be a non-archaeological feature or modern post-hole. The larger pit was circular, 0.55m in diameter, and was 0.75m deep, with a conical profile. This pit was lined with charcoal and contained a cremation burial with large pieces of burnt bone. Above this lay two similar clay fills with only 4% stone and charcoal inclusions.

In the second phase a post-hole was inserted in the pit and cut through the upper two layers to a depth of 0.3m. It is likely that the post was removed before decay and the cut filled in afterwards. The site lay less than 50m south-east of a flat cemetery (No. 1202, Excavations 2002, 02E0576) containing eight cremation burials, and it is assumed that this feature served as a marker post. Although considered a part of 02E0576, the current site is some distance away and is deeper than the flat cemetery’s burials but contains only small amounts of burnt bone. The subsequent insertion of a post and its proximity to the cemetery indicate that the location and depth were deliberate and that the token burial was ritual, intended to act as a marker-post foundation for the cemetery to the north-west. Although the time period between the cremation burial and the insertion of the post is unknown, it is presumed to have been quite short. Analysis of the charcoal and bone deposits will tell us if the marker post is indeed contemporary with the nearby cemetery.

2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin