2007:986 - AR151, Lyrath-, Kilkenny

This site was located within the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford road scheme along Contract 2, Phase 4B, Knocktopher to Powerstown, on the top of a ridge running north-west/south-east and overlooks the surrounding countryside of rolling agricultural land. An area 150m by 60m was stripped of topsoil and six ring-ditches were observed, two of which extended beyond the area of excavation. A geophysical survey was carried out in an area (100m by 60m) to the east and no further ring-ditches were identified. Three of the ring-ditches (11.9m diameter; 12.7m diameter and 4.3m diameter) were clustered together 40m south of a single ring-ditch which was 35m north-east of the remaining two ring-ditches, one of which cut the other. Five of the ring-ditches were circular and the sixth (5.2m external diameter) was penannular with a gap of 0.8m in the south-east and an almost centrally located hearth (0.8m by 0.7m, by 0.26m depth). The presence of this hearth, with evidence for in situ burning, suggests that this ring-ditch was a structure rather than a funerary monument. It was post-dated by another ring-ditch which cut through its western side. None of the ring-ditches enclosed or contained any burials and no bone was recovered from the ditch fills. However, eleven cremation pits surrounded the cluster of three ring-ditches. In almost all of these pits the burnt bone lined the cut and the charred remains from the funerary pyre were placed over it, indicating that the cremations had been placed ceremoniously in the pits. In two of the pits, the cremation was contained within a pottery vessel of possible Late Bronze Age type. There was evidence for a marker post or standing stone with two of the other pits.
A large fire pit (1.2m by 0.9m by 0.3m depth) was 42m south-west of the cluster of ring-ditches and cremations. The cut was oxidised and overlain by a thick, charcoal-rich layer and contained a large amount of carbonised seeds and what may even be the remains of a timber plank. It is currently interpreted as a rudimentary drying kiln and may or may not relate to the Bronze Age activity on the rest of the site.