2007:1012 - SHANKILL (AR128), Kilkenny

This site was located within the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford road scheme along Contract 2, Phase 4B, Knocktopher to Powerstown, and consisted of a possible cereal-drying kiln. The bowl of the kiln was circular in shape and measured 1.2m by 1.1m by 0.3m deep. It was lined with one to two rows of large tabular stones (typically 0.3m by 0.2m by 0.1m). A deliberate gap in the stone lining marked the entry of the flue into the bowl. The gap was 0.35m wide at the top of the stones and 0.2m at the base. A piece of rotting wood that might be contemporary with the kiln was found in this area. The flue extended for 1.2m before opening out to a width of 0.9m. The bowl and the flue were filled with yellow silty clay within which were found eroded pieces of Leinster cooking ware. A concentration of charcoal running into the flue below the silty clay suggests there was a fireplace present near the flue entrance.

While all signs point to this feature being a kiln, an unusual aspect of the feature is its location. The start of the flue appears to open out into a natural silted-up stream that meanders from the direction of the North Kilkenny Mountains to the Barrow River. The grey silty clay fill of the stream also contained a few pieces of Leinster cooking ware as well as a piece of prehistoric pottery and some post-medieval sherds. Three smaller meandering channels were recorded elsewhere on the site. These had silted up with grey marl and contained a similar mixture of finds, including a flint scraper. It is not clear when the channels silted up but it probably occurred when an existing linear stream to the south of the site was created. A linear arrangement of stone drains cut across the fill of the meandering channels.

120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Wicklow