County: Kerry Site name: KILMANIHEEN WEST (Site AR05)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0975
Author: Kate Taylor, TVAS Ireland Ltd, Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare.
Site type: Charcoal-making site
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 509409m, N 623231m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.353176, -9.329814
Nineteen charcoal-rich features were examined, sixteen of which were well-defined pits, on the N21 Castleisland–Abbeyfeale road improvement scheme. With the exception of one circular example and two small depressions, the pits were similar in form, sharing a long rectangular or oval shape. Most pits had fairly steep sides and flat bases with evidence of in situ burning. The elongated pits measured between 1.3m and 3.88m by 0.8m and 1.4m and were ranged in depth from 0.08m to 0.45m.
The pits that were not truncated had a similar sequence of fills: an extremely charcoal-rich deposit (nearly 100%) in the base immediately above heatoxidised natural clay with a deposit of clean clayey silt (similar to the natural geological deposits) above. It is likely that the features were deliberately backfilled with the original upcast from their excavation.
The pits did not appear to form a recognisable pattern in their layout, but several were parallel to their immediate neighbours and these were probably not dug randomly.
Few artefacts were recovered from the site and none were from well-stratified deposits within the pits. The presence of a few pieces of iron slag may indicate industrial activity nearby, but this cannot be directly associated with the excavated features.
A radiocarbon date of AD 810–840 and 860–1030 (2 sigma) was obtained from charcoal from one of the pits.
It is likely that the pits were used for the semi-industrial production of charcoal, possibly as a component of iron smelting. The radiocarbon determination did not produce a particularly tight date, but this is none the less significant. Even taking into account the possibility that the wood was from a (say) 200-year-old oak tree, the felling took place before the mid-13th century.
