2007:803 - ELMHALL, Kildare

Excavation was carried out at Elmhall, Co. Kildare, as part of the Kildare route rail project. The site was first identified during an assessment carried out by Colm Moriarty (07E0298; see No. 861, Excavations 2007) in advance of the construction phase of the project.

Topsoil was stripped from an area measuring 60m east–west by 10m using a mechanical excavator fitted with a toothless bucket. An extensively truncated burnt mound was revealed at the north-eastern end of the site and a linear ditch, representing a redundant field boundary, was identified to the south-west of the fulacht fiadh.

The excavation took place on 13–23 August 2007. The fulacht fiadh consisted of an oval mound of black soil and heat-shattered stone. The full extent of the burnt-mound material was not ascertained, as it extended beyond the northern limit of excavation. The exposed mound extended over an area measuring 9.3m (east–west) by 9.2m and was extremely truncated by activity associated with the landscaping and drainage of the adjacent Elmhall golf-course.

Three phases of activity associated with the fulacht fiadh were identified during the course of the excavation. The earliest phase consisted of a large subrectangular trough, three large circular pits and four small oval-shaped pits.

The large trough (C7) measured 3.8m (north-west/south-east) by 2.2m by 0.55m deep. There was no evidence of timber or plank lining. It contained three fills. The basal fill, a grey/yellow waterlogged silty clay, may represent a clay lining; the secondary (and main fill) consisted of a dark-grey silty clay of loose compaction with frequent heat-shattered stone and charcoal inclusions, which was similar to the fulacht material. The tertiary fill was a mix of brown/yellow sandy clay and stones (interpreted as overburden from the railway embankment, which sat directly over the fulacht fiadh prior to excavation). The trough was cut by a modern east–west-orientated ditch associated with the construction of the golf-course and subsequent drainage works. This ditch ran the entire length of the area under investigation.

Three large circular pits were identified to the north of the trough; the largest (C3), located 1.15m north-west of C7, measured 1.8m (north–south) by 1.6m by 0.28m deep. It was filled with a charcoal-rich dark-grey/black clayey silt of moderate compaction that contained frequent heat-shattered stones. The second pit (C4), located 0.75m south of C3, measured 1.65m (north–south) by 1.25m by 0.42m deep. It had two fills. The basal fill, a brown/yellow silty clay of moderate compaction that contained moderate stone and occasional charcoal inclusions, was interpreted as a clay lining. The main fill was a grey/brown silty clay of moderate-to-loose compaction with frequent heat-shattered stones. The third, circular, pit (C19) was located 0.3m to the west of C4 and measured 1.63m (east–west) by 1.02m by 0.45m deep. It was filled with a light-grey sandy clay of moderate compaction with moderate stone inclusions. Four smaller pits were also identified within the vicinity of the trough. They were filled by charcoal-rich friable clay with frequent heat-shattered stone similar to the fulacht material.

Phase II was characterised by the fulacht material which sealed the features in Phase Ia. It consisted of a mound of heat-shattered stones within a dark-grey/black charcoal-rich silty clay of moderate compaction. It measured 9.3m (east–west) by 9.2m by 0.13m deep.

Phase III was characterised by a second trough cut into the Phase II fulacht material. The trough was rectangular in plan with a concave profile and flat base and measured 2.75m (north-east/south-west) by 1.2m by 0.45m deep. It had two distinct fills. The basal fill was a yellow/brown silty clay of moderate compaction with occasional charcoal inclusions and may represent a clay lining. The upper fill was a mid-grey sandy silty clay of moderate compaction with frequent stone and occasional snail shells.

A boundary ditch associated with agricultural activity was located towards the south-western limit of excavation. It was slightly curvilinear in plan, with a U-shaped profile and flat base. It increased in depth as it ran south-westwards (from 0.72m to 1.02m) and probably aided drainage as well as demarcating field boundaries. It measured 18m (north–south) by 1.87m and had three separate distinct fills.

No substantial evidence from this investigation was recovered to favour any of the common functions assigned to this site type; the site could have been used for cooking or equally it may have functioned for washing or some other purpose. The troughs seem to have been clay-lined, as there was also no evidence to support a wooden lining or internal structure. There were no artefacts recovered from the mound or associated features.

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