County: Carlow Site name: Tinryland
Sites and Monuments Record No.: - Licence number: E002590
Author: Joanne Hughes, Headland Archaeology Ltd, Unit 1, Wallingstown Business Park, Little Island, Cork.
Site type: Pits and burnt spreads
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 674470m, N 672346m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.796969, -6.895734
The site was excavated as part of the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford scheme: Kilcullen to Powerstown. Testing in 2005 located a number of pits, a burnt mound and a linear feature. Excavation took place in January 2006 and the site was separated into three areas.
The first and largest area identified four circular pits. The pits had an average length of 2.38m and a width of 1.81m. Three of the pits had an average depth of 0.43m, with the fourth 0.72m. The base of each pit was flat, with several layers of deposition in each. A dressed stone was recovered at the base of one of the pits.
Three burnt spreads were investigated, the first, 6.8m long by 6.2m wide, comprised two fills. The upper deposit was moderately compacted black/brown mottled silt clay that varied in thickness from 0.05–0.15m with inclusions of animal bone and post-medieval pottery. The lower fill was compacted light-brown clay with a thickness of 0.05m. A small pit was located under the two deposits and was filled with black mottled silt clay with frequent stone inclusions. The second spread was roughly circular in shape and measured 7m by 6.3m. It had an upper fill of loosely compacted black/brown silt clay with frequent inclusions of head-cracked sandstone; the deposit varied in thickness from 0.1 to 0.38m. Two sherds of pottery were recovered, a medieval rim sherd and a post-medieval red earthenware body sherd; a corroded metal object was also retrieved. The lower deposit comprised light-brown moderately compacted silt clay, 0.03–0.11m thick. The third burnt area was greatly disturbed by modern farming activities and was 9.6m long by 2.9m wide and 0.15m thick. It was irregular in shape and was truncated by a drain and ditch to the north. It comprised black compact clay silt with occasional small stone and decayed stone inclusions.
The second area investigated produced two features that were proven to be non-archaeological.
The third area identified two shallow circular pits, with a diameter of 0.6m. The first contained a single deposit of brown/yellow silt clay, with ash and charcoal flecking throughout. The second pit was located directly east and contained mid-brown silt clay, with charcoal and ash throughout.
