2002:1244 - RATHCANNON (BGE 3/75/2–3), Limerick

This site was examined as part of Bord Gáis Éireann’s Pipeline to the West. A cremation cemetery containing twelve burials, two possible ‘blind burials’ and four stake-holes was excavated on the slopes of Rathcannon Hill, below Rathcannon Castle. The excavation area was limited by the pipe-trench and by rock heaps, and it is possible that further features had been situated around the excavated concentration and destroyed during construction work.

There were twelve definite cremation burials within the cemetery (1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 27, 29, 33, 35). All were in similar pits, circular or oval in plan and 0.26–0.9m wide, although most were over 0.4m wide. The profiles varied from steeply concave to more conical; some had possible stake-holes in the base. The pits were 0.16–0.6m deep.

The fills of all of the burials were similar: fine, dark brown/black silts with a charcoal component of up to 80%. Small fragments of cremated and crushed bone were evident throughout the fills, generally in greater concentration toward the base. Six of the burials (1, 3, 5, 9, 27, 29) were initially masked by a thin deposit of mid-orange/brown silty clay, which made them almost indistinguishable from the surrounding natural geological deposits. One pit (9), the largest feature excavated, produced a collection of prehistoric pottery sherds from the centre of the deposit.

Excavation revealed that the cuts of these pits were carefully executed, with smoothly finished sides and bases in the natural geological deposits. Despite their proximity, most of the pits did not cut each other, suggesting that they had been clearly marked during the lifetime of the cemetery.

Two of the burials (35 and 11) cut other features. Pit 35 slightly truncated the eastern edge of Pit 33 and was itself partially truncated by a stone-lined field drain that was visible only in the excavated section of Pit 35. Pit 11 was between Pits 9 and 13, cutting the fills of each, including the masking layer over Pit 9. It is possible, given the perfectly central position of Pit 11, that this truncation was not accidental and was intended to create or illustrate a link between the occupants of the graves.

Pit 11 had another unusual feature, a hidden chamber cut into the western side of the main pit, undercutting the natural surface. The hole was c. 0.25m in diameter, the minimum size for an adult hand to excavate. A high concentration of bone fragments was noted in this chamber, suggesting that a handful or bag of cremation residue was deliberately placed there.

Two possible blind burials (7 and 31) lay at the edges of the complex of burial-pits and were similar to these features in all respects other than the absence of cremated bone and the smaller charcoal component. It is possible that these features were symbolic interments without any human remains. Certainly, the pits appear to have been treated in the same manner as the burials, with Pit 31 being masked. Alternatively, these may represent the holes for timber posts marking the location of the cemetery.

The stake-holes (19, 21, 23, 25) were at the eastern and southern edges of the complex. They were circular, with diameters of 0.07–0.1m, and were 0.05–0.1m deep. It is possible that they held markers for the cemetery boundary; however, given the size of the features, any stakes would have been small.

An assemblage of pottery was recovered, both during excavation and from the soil samples (100% of each burial was sampled). Anna Brindley has examined part of the assemblage: 35 fragments from the largest cremation pit, 9. These have been shown to represent a single (incomplete) vessel of Middle–Late Bronze Age date. Although the material is not particularly diagnostic, it is thought that a date in the region of 1500 BC is likely. Analysis of the remaining ceramic material may provide a more specific date. In addition, radiocarbon determinations will be obtained from the cremated bone, which has yet to be analysed, and the large amount of charcoal recovered.

This site presents an interesting opportunity to examine a Middle Bronze Age cremation cemetery. An insight into the relationships between the individuals buried at the site may be given by the careful placement of a deposit of bone in the side chamber of Pit 11. This may represent the burial of two closely related people, such as parent and child or husband and wife, and it is hoped that analysis of the bone will shed more light on this matter. A good deal of effort appears to have gone into the preparation of the pits for the interments, and the fact that the pits generally respect each other suggests that the features were well marked during the lifespan of the cemetery. The possible stake-holes in the base of some pits may indicate the use of raised timbers as markers. It is possible that, where pits cut each other, this truncation was not accidental and was intended to create or illustrate a link between the occupants of the graves. A further consideration is the possibility that some of the burials were deliberately masked, being overlain by deposits of silty clay identical to the natural geology into which the features were cut. These deposits may have been intended to ‘close’ the burial-pit, much in the same way as an earlier megalithic tomb may have been sealed after the final interment, although a more prosaic explanation is that they were a result of backfilling the pits with their original spoil. It seems likely that this site represents a family burial-plot returned to for a few generations, and it is anticipated that the sequence of radiocarbon dates will confirm this short period of use.

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