2006:1023 - SITE AR49, FOULKSCOURT, Kilkenny

An excavation was carried out from June to August 2006 in advance of the construction of the M8/N8 Cullahill to Cashel road improvement scheme. Prior assessment and centreline test-trenching was carried out in 2005 by Colm Moriarty (Excavations 2005, No. 790, A027/015). This site was located c. 1km north-west of Johnstown and was formerly part of a golf-course, which later reverted back to agricultural use. As a result, a large degree of landscaping has occurred here. Excavation revealed four burnt mounds (Mounds A–D), three burnt spreads (E–G) and four pits (H).
Mound C was the largest of the burnt mounds. It lay beneath a modern farm trackway, running east–west, and was truncated across its centre by two parallel curving ditches that were orientated north–south. The mound measured 23m (north–south) by 27m and 0.2–0.3m in depth and was composed of a medium compacted black silt clay with frequent burnt stone and charcoal. Three features were identified under the mound, a trough and two pits. The trough lay under the centre of the site and was a large circular pit containing eight layers; it measured 4.7m (north–south) by 4.6m and 1.62m in depth. It is possible that this pit acted as trough or may have been used for pooling of water in conjunction with the trough. Lying 0.5m to the west of this large circular pit was a rectangular trough that measured 3.3m by 2.3m and 0.56m in depth.
Mound B revealed a ploughed-out and denuded burnt mound that measured c. 5.14m in diameter and consisted of a medium compacted silty clay with occasional burnt stone and charcoal. It was very shallow, 0.06–0.13m. Beneath the spread was an oval pit that measured 1.62m by 1.23m and 0.52m in depth. It had sharp sides and a flat base and had three fills all containing some degree of burnt stone and charcoal.
Mound C was also a ploughed-out and denuded burnt mound. Only the eastern half of the spread remained, as the western half had been entirely truncated by a modern field boundary. It measured 24m (north–south) by 12.8m and 0.08–0.2m in depth and was composed of a compact black stony silty sand with frequent burnt stone and charcoal. It was also truncated by field drains and a large backfilled pond. A large irregular subcircular pit was identified under the burnt mound, but only the eastern half of the pit was present. It measured 2.8m by 3.1m and 0.5m in depth.
Mound D consisted of a moderately compact black sandy silt with frequent charcoal and burnt stone and measured 3.2m by 4.84m and 0.02–0.13m in depth. One pit was located to the north, was oval in plan, measured 1.41m by 0.15–0.2m and was filled by a medium compacted black sandy silt with frequent burnt stones and occasional charcoal.
Spread E was a burnt spread that measured 9.2m by 12.2m and 0.14–0.2m in depth and was composed primarily of dark-grey/black sandy silt with burnt stone and charcoal. There was no evidence for a pit or trough under the spread. A number of post-medieval pottery sherds were recovered from layers within this site. Therefore, it is likely that this spread is not of prehistoric date.
Spread F was also a burnt spread. This site measured 2.81m by 1.7m and 0.08m in depth and was composed of a dark-brown/black loosely compacted silty clay with occasional burnt stone and charcoal. Similarly, there was no evidence for a pit or trough underneath the burnt spread.
Spread G consisted of a black/brown loosely compacted sandy clay with occasional burnt stone and charcoal. It measured 5.75m by 3m and 0.2m in depth. Equally, this spread had no evidence of a pit or trough.
Spread H was made up of a number of smaller pits and spreads, four in total, which on first impression looked like one overall spread. The first was subrectangular in shape, measured 1.28m by 1.16m and 0.35m in depth and contained four fills with a mix of charcoal, burnt stone and silty clay. The second pit was under a layer of loosely compacted grey/brown silty clay with frequent burnt stone and charcoal. It measured 2.7m by 3m and 0.05m in depth. An additional small pit was cut through one of the fills of the pit. It measured 0.46m by 0.2m and 0.22m in depth and was filled with a moderately compact silty clay. The third feature was a shallow small circular spread, 0.5m in diameter and 0.05m in depth, and was filled with a friable grey/black silty sand with inclusions of sub-angular sandstone and charcoal. The final pit was irregular in shape, measured 0.72m by 0.7m and 0.03–0.08m in depth and was filled with a loosely compacted grey/black sandy silt with occasional burnt stone and charcoal.