County: Cavan Site name: Tonyquin
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 08E0806; 08R253
Author: Lee Scotland, Ægis Archaeology, 32 Nicholas St, King’s Island, Limerick.
Site type: Enclosure, bowl furnaces, Bronze Age structure
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 620095m, N 825186m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.175244, -7.692210
The excavations at Site C, conducted in advance of the extension of a quarry, were located c. 2.5km south-east of Swanlinbar and 0.6km east of the N87 Ballyconnell to Swanlinbar Road. The site was situated on a break of slope on a west-facing hillside above the valley of the River Blackwater which flows into Upper Lough Erne c. 11km to the north-west.
The enclosure was initially identified as a kink within the Gortlaunaght–Tonyquin townland boundary and was tested by NAC in June 2008. Only one feature, a boundary ditch situated to the south of the enclosure, was located outside of the confines of the enclosure. The enclosure measured c. 30m in diameter and was defined by a ditch c. 1m wide and c. 0.75m deep. The ditch had been truncated along nearly its complete length by a post-medieval/early modern field boundary. The entrance was located at the west defined by two well-rounded termini. Although no datable evidence was located on-site, a medieval date is postulated for the enclosure. This is based primarily on its relationship with features located within the internal area.
A number of features, concentrated in two areas, were located within the internal area of the enclosure. The first, located in the north-west, was a metalworking area with several possible bowl furnaces, a post-hole and a curvilinear slot-trench. These features had truncated a large pit that may have been related to the other area of activity. This area was located centrally within the enclosure and extended to the south and south-east. Contained within this area were two large pits, three possible structural gullies, and a number of stake-holes that were concentrated around a small area of heat-affected natural subsoil. These stake-holes formed a subcircular structure, with the slot-trenches possibly forming a second. A large spread of material overlaid a number of these features. This spread extended to the south and south-west, where it had been sealed by the enclosure bank and truncated by the enclosure ditch.
A number of prehistoric pottery sherds were recovered from a number of features from the central area, including the spread. Several sherds have been preliminarily identified as Bronze Age cordoned urns (1730–1500 bc in date) (Dr Charles Mount, pers. comm.). A possible cremation was located c. 10m west of the stake-hole cluster.
