2002:1946 - BALLYNABARNY, Wicklow

A rescue excavation was conducted at Ballynabarny between 5 December 2001 and 20 February 2002 on the route of the N11 Newtownmountkennedy– Ballynabarny Road Scheme. Areas 1 and 2 were at an interchange of the proposed dual carriageway, and Area 3 was c. 1km to the south. Post-excavation research and analysis are in progress, and the following conclusions are preliminary.

Area 1
Area 1 was in a field locally referred to as the ‘Long Field’. This name was most likely applied after 1839, as the field is shown divided in two on the OS map of that year. On the 1904 edition this field boundary has been removed and the field has the long, triangular shape it has retained to the present day. Two phases of activity were represented in the area. The first, probably Bronze Age, was a fulacht fiadh, and the second represented post-medieval farming-related activity.

The burnt spread was next to a natural spring, and, during the Bronze Age period, it appears that fresh water constantly filled a hollow in this area and flowed downhill to the north-east. A large trough lay 4m south-east of the spring and would have filled naturally with water. This was subrectangular, measuring 2.3m by 2m, and was up to 0.48m deep. The lower fills were composed of charcoal-enriched soil with inclusions of burnt stone, and the remainder of the cut filled naturally with silt from the spring. Numerous pits, post-holes and stake-holes containing charcoal-rich soil and burnt stone were excavated in the area east and north-east of the trough. The structural significance of the post- and stake-holes is being assessed, but it appears that the existent structures were deliberately dismantled when their function had been completed, suggesting temporary or possibly seasonal activity. A large pit central to these features may have been used to heat stones on the site. This was oval, measuring 1.4m by 0.96m, and was 0.35m deep. There was in situ burning at the base of the cut, and the features surrounding it suggest that there may have been a superstructure or windbreak associated with it. The burnt spread itself (c. 15m2 and 0.25m deep) was roughly horseshoe shaped in plan but had been greatly disturbed and depleted by later ploughing activity.

Although the water in the area was an amenity during the Bronze Age, all subsequent activity was primarily concerned with farming, and every effort was made to drain the land. A field boundary cut through the northern extent of the burnt spread and ran north-west/south-east across the field. This comprised two parallel linear ditches, 3m apart, and was the remains of the field boundary that had been removed between 1839 and 1904. The northern ditch was 1.25m wide and 0.4m deep. The southern ditch was much larger, however, particularly in the area closest to the spring, where it was 1.6m wide and 0.9m deep. It appeared to have been designed to drain the spring water downhill to an area known as The Hollow in a field on the far side of the N11. Both ditches were deliberately backfilled during the removal of the field boundary, and the spring reasserted itself as an impediment to farming. This time a linear stone drain was constructed, running from the highest point of Area 1 (central to the burnt spread) toward the hollow and cutting the larger field boundary ditch to the north of the site. In conjunction with this, a second stone drain was constructed directly over the source of the spring, curving to follow the natural course of the water and feed it into the linear drain.

Area 2
Area 2 was also in the Long Field, c. 30m north-west of Area 1, and it contained a second, smaller fulacht fiadh. This was adjacent to what appeared to have been a small natural pond, and ranged around this were three troughs. These were all subrectangular; the largest measured 4.2m by 2m and was 0.54m in maximum depth. In addition to the troughs, three pits and more than ten stake-holes were excavated in the area. The burnt spread had suffered severe damage from later ploughing activity and, comparable to Area 1, was overlain by a network of stone drains. It survived to an extent of 6m by 4m with a maximum depth of 0.2m. It was also bisected by the third ditch on the site. This crossed the field in a winding north to north-west orientation. It was 1.8m wide and 0.4m deep and may have been an earlier field boundary.

Area 3
Area 3 was in a field known locally as the ‘Well Field’ and comprised two ditches and four pits. The ditches, at opposite ends of the field, were oriented north–south. They were c. 2m wide and 0.6m deep and are the remains of two field boundaries that are shown on the 1839 edition OS map but were removed before the second edition in 1904.

The four pits were widely dispersed throughout the field. Three of them were similar in morphology, yielding evidence of in situ burning, and two appeared to have been cut into the natural bedrock. This suggests that they may be associated or coeval, but this will be determined only when radiocarbon dates have been obtained. The fourth pit was roughly circular, measuring 1.5m by 1.36m. The sides descended gradually to an uneven concave base at a depth of 0.3m. Contained in the two fills of the pit were 83 pieces of flint (most of which were struck) and 28 sherds of probable Bronze Age pottery.

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