2006:138 - Acheson’s Quarry, Kennedies, Armagh

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Armagh Site name: Acheson’s Quarry, Kennedies

Sites and Monuments Record No.: - Licence number: AE/06/142

Author: Chris Long, Gahan & Long Ltd, 7–9 Castlereagh Street, Belfast, BT5 4NE.

Site type: Rath

Period/Dating:

ITM: E 678363m, N 844326m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.341609, -6.794867

It is proposed to extend the quarrying operations at Kennedies Quarry, Kennedies, Co. Armagh. The proposed area for quarrying contains ARM011–010, a scheduled monument.
Full excavation of the site commenced on 5 June 2006, with a second season carried out in March 2007. The site was located on the edge of the quarry face on what is best described as a plinth projecting south-west into the quarry pit. The removal of overburden and topsoil revealed an arc of a ditch. As exposed, the ditch was subcircular in plan and enclosed an area of c. 53.84m. It was cut through bedrock to a maximum depth of 1.62m. In section, the ditch was roughly U-shaped with relatively steep sides and a flat base. The sides of the cut were irregular due to the nature of the limestone bedrock.
Artefacts retrieved from the ditch included animal bone, flint, everted-rim ware and a toilet implement (ear scoop) believed to date to the 7th–9th century. The ditch was interpreted as being the remains of a rath.
A single pit was identified within the area enclosed by the ditch. The pit was subrectangular in plan and measured 1.28m north-west/south-east by 1.14m. Artefacts recovered from the pit included animal bone and substantial quantities of everted-rim ware.