2004:0732 - CAMP, Kerry

A series of stake-holes and pits was recorded in the townland of Camp, c. 2km south of Tralee, during monitoring in December 2003 (Excavations 2003, No. 783). The features were excavated in January 2004.

Area 1
Twenty-six features were recorded in an area 8.5m by 10m in extent. Twenty-four of these were cut into natural yellow silty clay subsoil, while two spreads of charcoal-rich material were also revealed. Twelve stake-holes similar in form and fill are thought to have formed a screen close to a small hearth. Two stake-/post-holes (F11 and F12) located immediately north-west of the hearth were also excavated. These features varied in form and composition. F11 was oval and bowl-shaped in section. It measured 0.37m by 0.28m by 0.35m and was filled with material typical of most of the features in this area (i.e. mixed dark-brown/black/ grey/orange silt, with ash and small stones). F12 was subcircular with steep sides and a pointed base filled with brown/black silt with flecks of charcoal; it measured 0.2m by 0.18 by 0.3m.

Eight pits were excavated. F1, F4 and F17 were irregular in plan, although their fills were similar to the pattern seen throughout the site, while the remaining five pits were distinctive in comparison. F2 was a shallow oval pit orientated east-west with sloped sides and a rounded base. It measured 0.93m by 0.5m by 0.12m and was filled with mixed black/dark-brown silt with ash and was rich in charcoal. The only artefacts to be recorded during this excavation came from the fill of this pit and comprised three sherds of prehistoric pottery, possibly from a Late Bronze Age funerary urn (Helen C. Roche, pers. comm.). F3 was a smaller, more regular, pit. It was roughly oval in plan with steep sides and a rounded base. It measured 0.45m by 0.39m by 0.23m. Its fill was slightly different material to that in the rest of the features and was composed of moderately compact mid-brown clay with occasional flecks of charcoal, possibly allowed to fill up naturally rather than being filled with the black ashy-type material.

F7 was the largest feature excavated. It was a regular rectangular pit, orientated east-west, with steep sides and a flat base. It measured 1.8m by 1.2m by 0.3m and was filled with typical mixed dark-brown/black/orange silt with ash and charcoal. Charcoal in the fill returned a 14C date of 2580±70 BP GrN–2881 (895–877 cal. BC, 2 sigma), which holds well with the LBA pottery found in F2. F15 was similar in plan to F2. It was oval and bowl-shaped in section, measured 0.83m by 0.5m by 0.35m and had two fills. The upper fill was loosely compacted dark-brown/black silt mixed with orange and grey ash and lumps of charcoal, while the lower fill was composed of orange ash. Finally, F54 was a shallow oval pit located 1.1m south of F7; it was also bowl-shaped but was filled with mid-brown clay with small angular stones and flecks of charcoal.

Area 2
Area 2, located 20m north of Area 1, involved the excavation of two shallow pits, two linear features and a stake-hole. The fills of all of these features were similar and generally composed of loose, mixed black/dark-brown silt with charcoal flecks, orange ash and small heat-shattered stones. There was occasional evidence of scorched soil, indicating that these burnt fills were not burnt in situ but were deposited here. In addition to this, a layer of small, angular stones lined the base of one of the pits. These were very distinctive and similar to a mosaic when the upper fill was removed. They are interpreted as a lining to absorb the heat from hot ashes.

Area 3
Located a further 5m north of Area 2, two pits and a linear feature were excavated in Area 3. F24 was a shallow subrectangular pit filled with material similar in composition to the features in Area 2. The north-west corner was cut by a smaller pit, F30, which was filled with sandy mid-brown silt and was later than F24. F25 was a shallow linear feature orientated north-east/south-west. It was also filled with the typical black silt and orange ash.

Sandy Lane, Barrow, Ardfert, Co. Kerry