2007:1009 - SCART, Kilkenny

The site was located at 98m OD, in Scart townland, Co. Kilkenny, 2km south of the village of Mullinavat. It was located c. 500m east of the present N9 and Waterford–Dublin railway line, and approximately 1km to the north-east of the Blackwater River. The site was located on the northern edge of a large plateau which marked the southern limit of the Blackwater Valley. AR22 (North) was located next to the western edge of AR22 (Excavations 2006, No. 1092, E3001), investigated by Jonathon Monteith.

Area 1 was located in the centre of the site and consisted of a cluster of five subcircular hearths and a large pit. The hearths were located in two east–west-orientated parallel rows which were 2.4m apart and were between 0.73m by 0.65m by 0.05m and 55m by 0.5m by 0.1m in size. They were all filled with a dark-brown charcoal-rich silty clay with occasional burnt stone. The features all contained small amounts of flint debitage. No other structural elements were associated with the hearths.

A large sub-oval pit appears to have had two broad phases of use. The first phase was represented by layers of natural silt accumulation within a large irregularly shaped feature which measured 5.96m by 2.9m by 1.4m. It is unclear if the feature was man-made, or if it could have been a natural feature such as a particularly large tree bole. The deposits seem to have mostly slumped in from the western edge of the feature. A few pieces of prehistoric pottery were retrieved from these layers, which seemed to be otherwise quite sterile. These deposits were partly truncated when the feature was recut. The newly formed feature was sub-oval in plan with a concave profile, and measured 4.88m by, 2.6m by 0.66m. The deposits within the recut feature were mostly dark-brown charcoal-rich silty clays, several of which contained large amounts of grooved-ware pottery and flint tools. In excess of 800 sherds of pottery were retrieved from the feature, many of which appear to have been deliberately broken in situ. Several small deposits within the feature appear to represent the breakage of individual vessels with their contents in situ. The largest deposit within the feature had several vessels represented within its assemblage and appeared as if certain body types, such as rims or bases, were deposited together in discrete areas, or broken deliberately on large stones within the fill. Analysis of the material will hopefully enable a more complete analysis of the deposition patterns of the pottery and lithic material to be established.

Area 2 was located at the northern end of the site. It consisted of two discrete areas, the most northerly of which contained a large subrectangular pit and several hearths. The hearths were generally about 0.4m by 0.4m in plan and were between 0.1m and 0.5m deep. Their bases had been fire-reddened, suggesting high temperatures had been produced.

In the southern half of Area 2 there was a large concentration of pits and post-holes. The main feature in this area appears to consist of a circle of small shallow post-holes (creating an area with an approximate diameter of 6m) with four large internal post-holes. The subsoil traces of the shallow post-holes were generally no larger than 0.2m by 0.2m by 0.1m, although it appeared that they had been truncated. The four central post-holes marked the corners of a rectangular area measuring 2.5m north–south by 2m. The post-holes were circular in plan with U-shaped profiles, the largest of which measured 0.56m by 0.54m by 0.4m. The depth of the post-holes suggests that they supported large sturdy posts, which contrasts sharply with the apparent flimsiness of the circular structure which surrounded it.

A north-west/south-east alignment of large pits ran through the middle of the circular structure, although they did not appear to be contemporary. It consisted of four large circular pits with U-shaped profiles, which measured c. 1m by 0.8m by 0.5m. A linear feature consisting of three post-holes and two slot-trenches continued to the west of the pit alignment. The post-holes measured 0.5m by 0.5m by 0.3m on average.

Area 3 was located at the southern end of the site. It again consisted of a large concentration of pits and post-holes. The pits appeared to form two semi-circular structures which faced one another, with a large hearth located between them. The northerly structure was 5m in diameter and the southerly one was c. 3.2m. There was a large hearth c. 3m to the north of the southerly structure. Several small pits located in and around the structures, which were assumed to be roughly contemporary, contained a small amount of prehistoric pottery and large amounts of flint debitage. On the western side of the smaller structure there was an arc of several shallow pits extending to the north-west. The pits were generally sub-oval in plan with concave profiles. Several of them were charcoal-rich and most contained flint debitage. A large roughly cobbled area within the arc of pits may represent a roughly laid surface.

The interpretation of AR22 (North) must not be carried out in isolation but should integrate the results from the excavation of AR22. The features in AR22 (North) appear to indicate that there were three possible structures on the site, although their function is at this point unclear. The large feature in Area 1 shows the deliberate and careful deposition of large amounts of grooved-ware pottery, and perhaps also the deliberate breakage and deposition of flint artefacts. AR22 and AR22 (North) appear to have been part of a large site that occupied a prominent position over the landscape, and in relation to Tory Hill.

Full examination of the material from both sites should help illuminate the Later Neolithic period in the south-east of Ireland.

Brehon House, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny