2006:1009 - COOLMORE, Kilkenny

This site was identified in the course of work carried out for Kilkenny County Council/National Roads Authority during the N9/N10 Waterford to Powerstown scheme. The site was located in gently east-sloping pasture, within naturally outcropping limestone; it was c. 300m from a cist burial site (KK031–041). Excavations were carried out in September 2006.

This site covered a total area of c. 1400m2. A central area of c. 300m2 contained over 70 pits in an arc from south to north. Of these pits, a total of 24 contained deposits of burnt bone. Burnt quartz pebbles were also recovered from several cremated bone deposits and may represent a relationship between cremations and the use of quartz pebbles in a funerary context.

A pit towards the centre of the site contained an upright ceramic vessel filled with burnt bone and charcoal. The vessel was slightly disturbed in situ, possibly by modern agricultural practices, but initial analysis of the fabric and form suggests it may be a reuse of a cooking vessel of Late Bronze Age date. A pit to the south of this contained packing stones and may have contained a stone or post ‘marker’ for the site. Several post- and stake-holes were also identified and may also have functioned as marking features.

Several outlying pits were also identified. To the north, an area of shallow pits was identified, with no obvious function, while a pit to the south contained a charcoal-rich fill overlying an oxidised base. The backfill of this pit contained a single sherd of medieval pottery.

Additional testing failed to locate a pyre associated with the cemetery site. Initial analysis of pottery suggests a Late Bronze Age date for the site (E. Grogan, pers. comm.).

Brehon House, Kilkenny Road, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny