County: Kilkenny Site name: AR070, Rathduff Upper
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A032/082; E3613
Author: Ed Lyne, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Wicklow.
Site type: Burnt mounds
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 651211m, N 642600m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.532347, -7.245200
This site was located within the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford road scheme along Contract 2, Phase 4, Knocktopher to Powerstown. An area of 75m by 30m was stripped and revealed two burnt spreads on the edge of an area of wetland, at the base of a gently sloping hill.
Both of these spreads were heavily disturbed by ploughing. Indeed much of the material had been moved over the years so that it filled a post-medieval drainage ditch running along the edge of the wetland, with only traces of the original mounds being found in their original locations.
A number of mostly irregular pits were identified, some of which were sealed by the remainder of the burnt spreads. In all cases these features were filled by heat-affected stones and charcoal-rich soil. Two possibly worked pieces of flint and two possibly worked stones were recovered during excavation.
