2008:101 - Straheglin 1, Cavan

Excavation was carried out in March–April 2008 along the route of the proposed N3 Butlersbridge to Belturbet road improvement scheme for Cavan County Council and the National Roads Authority. The features identified comprised ditches/drains, burnt spreads and pits. The site at Straheglin 1 was divided into two areas, A and B, due to the nature of the site’s topography. Straheglin 1 was located on top of a hill (Area B) and on the sloping side of the hill (Area A).
Area A was close to marsh/bog land and the presence of modern field drains indicated that this site was prone to flooding. Area A contained a number of features including spreads and pits. A small subcircular pit, 0.8m in diameter and 0.03–0.13m deep, was truncated by a modern linear furrow. The fill of the pit contained 91 sherds of later medieval everted-rim ware, three of which exhibited inscribed decoration and three of which were handle fragments. The burnt spreads and pits were concentrated near the bottom of the slope. The spreads appeared to be disturbed by agricultural processes.
A large pit measuring 3.8m by 2.2m by 1–1.62m was also excavated. The upper fills appeared to be hill-wash and dumped material trapped in a depression. A metal object, possibly a knife, was retrieved from a secure upper fill of the pit. The primary fill was over 0.8m deep and comprised 60% undecayed organic matter (tree trunks and branches) and 40% silty clay. A number of hazelnut shells and animal-bone fragments were retrieved; the animal-bone assemblage represented one adult bovine and one adult red deer.
A possible trough was sub-oval in shape and contained heat-shattered stones and charcoal-rich material. Its profile resembled that of a trough, with a sharp break of slope, steep sides and a flat base.
A further three pits were identified. A sub-oval pit measured 0.75m in diameter and 0.2m deep and contained a silty clay with stones. A second pit, 0.7m by 0.3m by 0.22m, was subrectangular in shape and contained a charcoal-rich fill with heat-shattered stones. The third pit was sub-oval, 1.4m in diameter and 0.49m deep, with two fills, the primary of which was a clayey silt and the upper of which comprised a silty sand.
Area B contained a modern/post-medieval ditch that ran east–west along the top of the hill. This feature may be a disused boundary ditch, as the large field in which Straheglin 1 is located was most likely a series of smaller fields in the past.
Also located in the north-east of the site was a curvilinear slot-trench, 2.8m by 0.3m by 0.15m, that appeared to have been heavily truncated by agricultural processes.
The spreads, pits and possible trough may indicate burnt-mound activity. It is possible that the large pit with its inclusions of hazelnuts and animal bone in an organic-rich matrix was associated with it. However, a lack of stratigraphic relationships renders any current interpretations inconclusive. The features located further upslope may also have been related and represent activities occurring away from the wet downslope area. The slot-trench may have functioned as a windbreak; however, it was too incomplete to determine its precise function.
It is unlikely that all the features on this site were contemporary. Those possibly associated with burnt-mound activity probably date to the Bronze Age. The feature containing the pottery is likely to be medieval in date and the field ditches are post-medieval/modern in date.