2006:1039 - Site AR44, Islands, Kilkenny

An excavation was carried out in September and October 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, A027/014). This site was located north of Urlingford in sloping wet marshy ground under pasture, west of the River Goul, and was divided into two areas. Area 2 was located further to the north-west on higher drier land.
Excavation revealed two burnt mounds in Area 1. The smaller westernmost spread was truncated and measured 7.62m (north–south) by 7m and 0.11–0.16m in depth. It was composed of black sandy silt with frequent burnt stone. A wider area measuring 7.5m (east–west) by 12.5m and 0.12–0.16m in depth was covered with burnt stone without charcoal. Beneath the spread was a subrectangular trough with rounded corners and a flat base, measuring c. 3m by 1.8m and 0.5m in depth, with evidence of burning at the base. This cut an earlier circular pit located to the east, which measured 1.28m by 1.12m by 0.45m and was filled by the burnt-spread material. Located to the north of these two pits was a third, oval-shaped, which measured 1.3m by 1.1m and 0.4m in depth and was orientated north-east/south-west.
The larger of the two spreads was located in a very wet and marshy area close to a natural spring. It measured 24m by 14.5m and 0.06–0.6m in depth and was composed of a soft and loose mottled black, yellow and white clayey sand with frequent charcoal and burnt stone. The main trough located under this spread was subrectangular in shape and measured 2.2m (north–south) by 1.55m and 0.34m in depth. It was filled by black sandy silt with charcoal and burnt stone and was timber-lined, as indicated by twelve wooden planks and pieces of timber. The largest planks were 1–2m in length and appeared to have had tapered points. There was no evidence for corner post-holes or stake-holes once the timbers had been lifted.
Six other possible pits/troughs were also recorded in the vicinity, filled with occasional burnt stone and charcoal. The first was irregular in shape and measured 1.92m by 1.37m and 0.3m in depth. The next pit was circular in shape and measured 1.25m by 1.1m and 0.17m in depth. Truncating this earlier feature was a rectangular pit that measured 2.1m by 1.5m and 0.3m in depth. The next was a subrectangular pit that measured 3.42m by 1.4m by 0.05–0.22m in depth. The next possible trough was subrectangular in shape with rounded ends and measured 1.35m by 1.3m by 0.35m. The next possible pit/trough was oblong in shape and measured 2.7m by 2.05m and 0.4m in depth. Within the upper layers of the main spread was cut a pit that measured 1.44m in length and 0.58m in depth. Lying within this pit close to the top of the cut were seven narrow and thin timbers. They were all positioned next to each other and had an average length of 1m (minimum 0.3 and maximum 1.32m) and widths of 0.06–0.12m. A stray find of a flint arrowhead was recovered from the topsoil in proximity to this spread.
Area 2 revealed a linear field boundary, orientated north-east/south-west, and had a width of 1.3m and depth of 1.1m.