County: Kerry Site name: BRACKLOON, Annascaul
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0119
Author: Jacinta Kiely and Bruce Sutton, Eachtra Archaeological Projects
Site type: Hearth, Pit and Structure
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 460330m, N 601936m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.151585, -10.041062
Monitoring took place of ground disturbance works associated with Phase 1 (in the spring) and Phase II (in the autumn) of construction, comprising thirteen house sites. The archaeological stratigraphy was recorded at five locations on the site.
Four features were recorded in Area I, which measured 4m north-south by 4m. Two linear features were located perpendicular to one another 0.4m apart. They were similar in terms of size and morphology. They were both filled with black/brown sandy clay with occasional burnt stone and charcoal flecks. An irregular linear feature was located immediately to the east. It was wider and deeper than the other two.
Area II measured 5m north-south by 5m. The basal remains of a hearth were recorded in the west central portion of the trench. The hearth was 0.73m by 0.37m by 0.02m deep. A cluster of 22 stake-holes was located in the vicinity of the hearth. They did not form any coherent pattern but could have formed a screen associated with the hearth. The stake-holes were generally circular in plan, with vertical sides and pointed bases. The fills were a mix of brown sandy clays and black silty clays. Flecks of charcoal were recorded in three of them. Two of the stake-holes cut the hearth. A large irregular pit was located 0.8m to the east of the hearth. It was filled with a brown sandy clay with charcoal and stones. Seven stake-holes were located on the east side of the pit. They were similar in terms of fills and plan to those adjacent to the hearth. Two post-holes, a stake-hole and a pit were located in the south-east portion of the grid. A group of five small stake-holes was located in a line immediately west of one of the posts. A sixth stake-hole was located between the two post-holes.
Area III measured 9m north-south by 6m. A pit was located in the north section of the grid. It was 2.1m by 1.4m by 0.23m deep. It cut a possible posthole to the south-east. Three stake-holes aligned north-west/south-east were located to the south-east of the pit. A group of 44 stake-holes were located in the south-west section of the grid. They were filled with a brown silty clay. Occasional flecks of charcoal were recorded in four of the stake-holes. They were aligned roughly south-west/north-east for a length of c. 3m. Two pits, a large stake-hole and a post-hole were located in the midst of the group of stake-holes. The pits were filled with brown sandy clay. Eight of the stake-holes encircled one of the pits. The posthole was 0.5m by 0.4m by 0.42m deep. A packing fill was recorded on the south-east side. A shallow pit was located 0.7m to the south-east. It was roughly circular in plan with sloping sides and a rounded base. The brown sandy clay fill included four sherds of prehistoric pottery.
Area IV was located c. 5m to the south of House 13. It consisted of three pits near to one another, of similar size and shape. They were on average 0.6m in diameter by 0.25m in depth. The sandy silt fills included stone and charcoal. No artefacts were recorded in the fills of the pits.
Area V was located to the south of House sites 10 and 11. It consisted of a single pit and an L-shaped ditch. The pit was similar in size to those recorded in Area IV. The L-shaped ditch extended 12m from the wedge of the site, turned south and continued for 13m before extending beyond the south boundary of the site. It was 1.3m wide on average and 0.6m deep, with sharp break of slope, concave sides and flat/rounded base. It contained two fills. The upper was a mid-brown clayey sand with many stones, with some being over 0.4m in size. This was the predominant fill of the ditch and was present along the entire length. The lower fill of the ditch was recorded close to the corner. It was a moderately compact silt/sand/clay mix with stones. The uniformity of the fills and the general U-shaped profile would suggest that this was a field boundary ditch.
Five areas of archaeology were excavated across the site. With the exception of four sherds of pottery, no artefacts were recorded. The features recorded in Areas I–IV are possibly of prehistoric date and may be contemporaneous. The radiocarbon dating results may confirm this hypothesis.
Ballycurreen Industrial Estate, Kinsale Road, Cork
