2006:1011 - DANGAN, Kilkenny

During testing in advance of development at Dangan, Thomastown, a small area of badly truncated features was identified. Subsequent excavation revealed the topsoil layer was ploughed throughout and ploughmarks were also visible within the subsoil. An area measuring 27m north-east/south-west by 16m was opened. There were six feature cuts in total, all cut into the boulder clay. Curving gullies F1, F3 and F4 were visible at the south-west end of the site and appeared to be linked to each other. Oval pit F8, curving gully F10 and circular pit F12 were located on the north-east side of the site.

F1 extended north–south for a distance of 9m and curved slightly at the north end. On excavation, most of this feature survived as a very shallow dark-brown clayey silt with charcoal flecks to a depth of 0.03–0.1m.The cut was 0.45–0.73m in width and 0.1–0.14m in depth. F01 was slightly curving, forming a gentle arc, and had no clearly defined terminals; it is probably linked to the small gullies F3 and F4. F03 consisted of a roughly elongated oval-shaped cut orientated east–west measuring 0.45–0.6m in width, 1.5m in length and 0.25–0.35m in depth. F03 contained a single fill, which was the same as the fill of F01 and the upper fill of F04. It consisted of a mid- to dark-brown clayey silt with frequent charcoal flecks and small angular stones.

F04, the cut of a small oval pit/gully, measured 1.8m in length, 0.66m in width and 0.33m in depth. There were two fills, the upper consisting of a mid- to dark-brown clayey silt with frequent charcoal flecks and small angular stones and the lower consisting of orange/brown sandy silt with occasional inclusions of stones and charcoal flecks.

Oval pit F08 was detected to the east side of the excavation area, 13.8m north-east of F01. It measured 2.96m north-west/south-east by 2.1m; the fill consisted of a loosely compacted dark-brown clay silt with frequent flecks of charcoal. A number of small angular stones were also noted and some showed evidence for scorching. In addition, occasional small flecks of burnt bone were also recovered.

F10, an L-shaped gully, was located c. 5m north-east of F8, with the western leg (2m long) orientated east–west and a return orientated north-west/south-east. This feature measured 0.6–0.7m in width and c. 0.5–0.6m in depth. The sides sloped sharply to a U-shaped base. The fill consisted of a loosely compacted dark-brown silty clay with some stone inclusions and occasional charcoal flecks.

F12, a roughly circular pit, was located 5m east of F08 and 2m south of F09. It measured 1.95m north–south by 1.95m. The fill consisted of a loosely compacted dark-brown clay silt with occasional flecks of charcoal. A number of small angular stones were also noted.

There were no finds in any of the features, making it difficult to determine their date. The presence of occasional burnt-bone fragments within the fill of F08 may point to Bronze Age activity. The curving gullies may originally have formed part of a ring-ditch, but, due to the badly truncated nature of these features, there was no definitive evidence to confirm this. Deep ploughing over time has severely damaged what little survived. The lack of animal bones or finds indicating domestic occupation suggests that this area may have been used for a single votive deposit. It is hoped that specialist analysis and radiocarbon dates may provide more information on this site.

Sylane, Tuam, Co. Galway