2004:0868 - BLANCHFIELDSLAND, Kilkenny

Archaeological investigations in the townland of Blanchfieldsland, Co. Kilkenny, were undertaken as part of further investigations after a site of archaeological potential was identified during testing along the proposed route of the N77 Kilkenny ring road extension. The project was funded by the Department of Transport and the cost was administered by the National Roads Authority through Kilkenny County Council.

An area of 4500m2 of topsoil was stripped from the naturally occurring gravel hillock by machine, revealing a bivallate ringfort delimited by two concentric ditches. The 3m-wide entrance was facing north-east and was flanked on either side by slot-trenches. The only surviving archaeological feature on the interior of the site was a large pit. No evidence of an enclosing bank was found.

Outside the ringfort and downslope to the north, associated peripheral activity was uncovered that included two kilns built over earlier ditch boundaries, a scatter of post- and stake-holes, pits, and a complex of linear field boundaries.

Area 1: ringfort
The inner ditch enclosed the summit of the hillock measuring 34m east-west by 32m. The full extent of the inner ditch edge was uncovered; part of its outer ditch edge was destroyed on the south side by gravel quarrying. It was U-shaped in profile on the eastern side, measuring 0.8m deep by 1.1m wide. On the western side it was V-shaped and deeper, measuring 1.4m deep by 1.5m wide. The ditch was filled by numerous silt and gravel layers. The only datable finds recovered were two sherds of pottery from a single Bii amphora. Insular occurrences of these vessels can be broadly dated to the late 5th to mid6th centuries AD. The sherds from Blanchfieldsland represent the first find of imported Mediterranean pottery from south-eastern Ireland (Ian Doyle, pers. comm.).

The outer ditch enclosed the east, south and western sides of the site but, similar to the inner ditch, a section of the outer ditch edge was lost on the south side due to gravel quarrying. The outer ditch was not present on the northern side of the hillock. The eastern section of this ditch was U-shaped in profile, measuring 0.8m deep by 1.5m wide, and was similar in depth to the corresponding segment of the inner ditch. It was filled by layers of silt and gravel. The cuts of the south and west sides of the ditch were different. They were V-shaped in profile and much wider and deeper, measuring 2.3m deep by 5m wide. The deep cut of the outer ditch terminated sharply at either end. It is possible that the shallower eastern ditch section was truncated by the deeper recut outer ditch. The lower ditch fills comprised layers of silt, gravel and stone. The upper layers were made up of compact silts with a high percentage of gravel inclusions. The uppermost layer of the ditch in the western quadrant had been disturbed by a modern drain. A length of the shallower section of the outer ditch on the south-east side had a rudimentary stone revetment. The stones used were predominantly rounded limestone cobbles and were set into a matrix of compact brown silt present at the upper edge of the outer ditch.

The entrance to the site was a simple feature, formed from a 3m break in the line of the inner ditch. There was no evidence of gateposts or any structure associated with it. The slot-trenches flanking the entrance, which respected the curve of the inner ditch, averaged 5m in length by 0.6m wide by 0.3m deep. A single post-hole was uncovered cut into the base at the north-western end of the eastern slot-trench. The fills of slot-trenches were similar, comprising silt and gravel with charcoal inclusions.

The only feature to be excavated on the interior of the site was a large deep pit, 2m east-west by 2.5m wide by 1m deep. This was filled with several layers of material, mostly silts and gravels. A lower pit fill was charcoal-rich and from this layer several finds were recovered. They included a segment of a bone comb, a gaming piece and a perforated stone. The northern side of the pit had a rudimentary stonefacing, four courses high. Two post-holes were found at the north-west and south-west corners of the pit. The eastern edge had been disturbed by later gravel quarrying.

Area 2: peripheral activity
Extending downslope from the site was a thick layer of silt that had built up around the base of the hill and was particularly prevalent on the north-east side. This layer formed a blanket, covering most of the features at the base of the slope. It was in this layer that a cast copper-alloy crutch-headed stirrup-ringed pin was found. A date from early in the 11th century for its production seems likely (Eamonn P. Kelly, pers. comm.).

Several small pits and post-holes were excavated in the north-west area of the site. The fills of these features comprised mostly silts with charcoal flecking and small stone/coarse pebbles. Relatively few stake-holes were found and those recorded were in the same area as the post-holes. The post- and stake-holes occurred randomly and did not form any structure.

Several linear features were excavated in the north-east corner of the site. To the east of the slot-trenches, flanking the entrance to the ringfort and respecting the curve of the hill, was another curvilinear ditch. This feature contained silt and gravel fills that had inclusions of animal bone and charcoal. It extended for a length of 50m (southeast/north-west), reaching a maximum depth of 0.7m and a width of 0.7m before terminating at the base of the slope. At this point, but not linked, were several linear ditches of varying length and depth. They extended in north-east, north-west or south-west directions and several truncated each other. They contained similar compact silt or silty clay fills with few inclusions. A blue glass bead was recovered from the fill of one of these ditches.

Two corn-drying kilns were uncovered to the north of the site. Both kilns had been built over earlier ditches.

The first kiln, located 38m to the north-north-east of the ringfort, had two roughly circular bowls with a connecting flue and is best described as an elongated figure of eight. A rudimentary stone lining was present in the flue and there was an indication that this lining may have also been present in the bowls. The sides and base of the bowls showed evidence of oxidised clay, indicating in situ burning. The kiln was 6m in length; the bowls averaged 1.5m in width by 0.35m in depth. The fills of the kiln contained a high percentage of charred cereal grain.

The second kiln, 40m to the north of the ringfort, comprised a single bowl with a connecting flue. The bowl was oval in plan and both bowl and flue had a rudimentary stone lining. It measured 1.06m wide by 4.8m long, with an average depth of 0.6m. Evidence for in situ burning was present along the sides and the base of the bowl, where a small amount of the subsoil had been oxidised. The fills of the bowl and flue included layers of black silt with a high content of charred material. Similar to the previous kiln, it was also built over a linear boundary.

To the south-west corner of the outer ditch, a small oval pit measuring 1m by 0.3m deep was excavated. The fills of the pit contained a high amount of charred material. Oxidised clay was present in several of the fills, as well as at the base and sides of the pit, suggesting in situ burning.

Summary
Excavation uncovered a bivallate ringfort situated on a small gravel hillock. The large deep-cut features survived, such as the inner and outer ditches, slot-trenches and a single large pit. The gravel nature of the site, natural erosion and agricultural practices did not allow for the finer, more subtle, features to survive on the hill, such as occupation layers and shallow cuts. Downslope from the site was a deep accumulation of hill-wash that afforded protection to many of the features associated with the peripheral activity. These included two corn-drying kilns, a scatter of post-holes, stake-holes, pits and a complex of linear field boundaries.