2006:999 - Ballylusky, Kilkenny

This site was identified as an area of archaeological potential during the testing phase of the pre-construction archaeological works on the N9/N10 upgrade. An area of burnt-mound material was found during the testing. In order to fully resolve any archaeological features at this location, an area of 60m by 25m was stripped of its topsoil using a caterpillar machine. This uncovered a spread of burnt-mound material and some associated features towards the western end of the area stripped. The site was located near the western boundary of a field on the southern slope of a substantial, gradually sloping, hillside. A stream defines this boundary of the field. There are a number of springs here and these may explain the choice of this location for a burnt-mound site.
The burnt-mound material was oval in plan and measured 9m long and 7m wide. It was 0.7m deep at the centre. This mound was made up of several overlapping layers of black/brown and grey/black silty sand with moderate to very frequent inclusions of charcoal and frequent to very frequent inclusions of small, mostly angular, heat-shattered stones. It sealed both a trough-like feature and a hearth. The trough feature was 2.2m long, 1.3m wide and 0.5m deep. It contained moderately compact dark-brown silty sand with frequent flecks of charcoal. The hearth was located directly east of this and was stone-lined. Many of the stones had been robbed out, but their sockets remained. This hearth feature was 2.5m long, 2.1m wide and 0.25m deep. It was fire-reddened at the base and the remaining stones showed evidence of being heated.
There were two irregular-shaped natural depressions associated with this site. The first of these was to the east of the burnt mound. It was roughly oval in shape and had irregular sides and an uneven base. The second, to the south of the burnt mound, was very similar. Both contained burnt-mound material, although it is unlikely that either served as a trough.
Three early modern furrows truncated the more southerly part of this site. They were between 11.2m and 11.5m long and averaged 0.7m wide and 0.35m deep. They were evenly spaced at 2m distance from each other and were regular in plan with sloped sides and concave bases. A field drain ran in a north-east/south-west direction some 20m to the east of the burnt mound. This extended beyond the width of the excavated area in both directions. It was 1.5m wide and 0.5m deep.
There were two heavily corroded iron nails, one piece of corroded iron, one piece of iron slag and two stems of clay pipes found at this site. Given that these were located in the topsoil, they cannot be used to date the burnt mound, which is likely to date to the Bronze Age if it is in keeping with the majority of such sites.