2005:1571 - KILTOTAN/COLLINSTOWN, Westmeath

Excavations were undertaken in advance of realignment of the N6, between Kinnegad and Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath, in 2004 (Excavations 2004, No. 1748, 04E0908). Three sites were excavated in Kiltotan and Collinstown townland at the western end of the scheme (Kiltotan and Collinstown 12–14).
Two main areas of archaeological potential, 13m apart, were uncovered in Kiltotan and Collinstown 13; the first, Area A, consisted of a large hollow filled with burnt clay and charcoal and a number of ditches of unknown date, probably late medieval or post-medieval in origin. The second area, Area B, was defined by one irregularly shaped pit with burning.
Area A comprised a series of diagonal ditches, possible pits and large area of burning, which were identified in the course of test excavations in the summer of 2004. These features were subsequently excavated in January/February 2005. A number of the features were identified as being natural in provenance (the possible pits in particular), but a series of field boundaries was confirmed, along with a large enigmatic burnt pit that was visible as a large spread of red burnt clay with charcoal patches. It measured 5.2m by 3.86m by 0.85m in depth and had four fills. Three of the fills contained charcoal flecks. It was thought that this feature could have been a crudely fashioned pit corn-drying kiln, but examination of a sample from one of the deposits within the pit recovered no charred seeds. A second hypothesis was that it was a tree root bole and many of the charcoal fragments in the sample were identified as roots, suggesting that this interpretation was correct. However, the presence of layers of burning within the pit or tree bole suggests human agency in the formation of these deposits.
The late medieval/early modern activity on the site is associated with tillage, land clearance and drainage for agriculture. The physical remains included boundary and drainage ditches. A north-west/south-east-orientated ditch had one brown silty clay fill. It measured 1.5m wide and was 0.5m deep. It was exposed for a length of 19m and it extended outside of the limits of excavation. The base of the ditch contained a large amount of stones. They may represent an episode of field clearance. An adjacent shallow ditch ran north-west/south-east beyond the area of excavation. It measured 0.9m wide and was 0.25m deep. It contained one clay fill that had a concentration of stones at the base, similar to the material observed in the fill of the other ditch. These two ditches were close together and it is possible that they were located on either side of a field boundary bank and that they therefore represent the same phase of field enclosure.
A third shallow ditch also ran parallel to the other two ditches. This was also aligned north-west/south-east, extending beyond the limit of excavation, 0.1m wide and 0.25m deep. There were two fills, but there was very little difference in their composition, with one being only slightly lighter in colour. This fill was only visible in a small area of the ditch and it has been interpreted as slump into the ditch. Unlike the other two ditches, there were no stones found in the base of this ditch. This is the westernmost ditch on the site.
A number of potential archaeological features were identified in Area B in the course of test excavations, including one area of burnt clay and charcoal. On excavation, this was interpreted as a disturbed pit, which contained four deposits. Some of these fills were irregular and ran under the subsoil in places. This indicated a high degree of disturbance and suggested that this may have been a tree root bole where burning took place.