2009:489 - A032/13 AR016, BALLYKEOGHAN, Antrim

The site was situated 4.5km south of Mullinavat, in a low-lying boggy area to the east of the present N9 and Waterford–Dublin railway line. Excavation commenced on 27 June 2006 for a period of six weeks. The topsoil was stripped from an area measuring 85m by 50m to locate the archaeological features identified during the centreline testing. These two concentrations were located on the northern and southern side of a dried-up palaeochannel.
The northern part of the site consisted of a shallow spread of badly disturbed burnt-mound material measuring 25m in diameter, but with a thickness of less than 0.4m. The spread was roughly horseshoe in shape but had been scattered to the east, creating a very mixed deposit. Two areas of peaty deposit, located within and to the east of the burnt-mound deposit, marked the location of two A032/13 AR 16, Ballykeoghan, site plan (No. 489).
rectangular troughs and a large circular feature. The largest trough measured 2.5m by 1.5m and was 0.4m deep. There were traces of wood lining surviving sporadically against the base and the lower sides of the feature. A radiocarbon date of 2713±40 BP (968–802 BC) was obtained from the backfill material. A smaller, subrectangular, trough was located to the south-east of the larger trough. It was 1.25m wide and 0.35m deep and survived to a minimum length of 1.35m, the original extent of the feature being obscured by a modern drain which truncated the edge of the feature. The troughs were located at the edge of a large flat-based circular feature which measured 4.7m by 4.3m in plan. Six stake-holes survived at the base of the feature, four of which surrounded two flat stones that had been set into the floor. Large pieces of badly decayed wood survived sporadically on the base of the feature, again suggesting at least a partial timber lining. A radiocarbon date of 2864±23 BP (1121–940 BC) was obtained from a seemingly reused stake at the base of the feature. A radiocarbon date of 2803±40 BP (1053–838 BC) was also obtained from the backfill. A saddle-quern and a possible grinding stone were both recovered from the basal fill of the feature. The features were all filled with burnt-mound material and the radiocarbon dates show them to be broadly contemporary, although a modern drain that cut through the site destroyed any direct stratigraphic relationship between them. The features in this area are very similar to those identified at a burnt mound in the nearby townland of Rathpatrick, which was excavated by Catriona Gleeson for Headland Ltd as part of the N25 Waterford city bypass. The Rathpatrick site has been identified as a possible sweathouse (Eogan 2007), and it is suggested that the Ballykeoghan site fulfilled a similar function.
The concentration of features on the southern edge of the palaeochannel was located on a narrow ridge of higher ground. It consisted of a sub-oval cut feature measuring 2.3m by 1.5m by 0.4m and a shallow circular feature measuring 1.4m by 1.2m by 0.07m. Both were filled with charcoal-rich material with many burnt stones. Two small thin spreads of burnt-mound material were located to the north and west of the cut features. A small subrectangular trough measuring 1.6m by 1.4m by 0.3m was located several metres to the south-east of the sub-oval feature on a slightly lower area of ground. A radiocarbon date of 3797±37 BP (2430–2059 BC) was obtained from the backfill. The trough was surrounded on its eastern side by an area of cobbling. It consisted of a roughly oval area of cobbling that extended north towards the edge of the palaeochannel and east towards the edge of the trough. The cobbled surface consisted of small tightly packed pebbles laid immediately on to the natural subsoil, although larger stones were used in the path that linked the wet ground on the edge of the palaeochannel to the main area of cobbles.
An article on this site has been published in the Old Kilkenny Review (Laidlaw 2008).
References Eogan, J. 2007 Cleansing body and soul. Seanda 2,
38–9. Laidlaw, G. 2008 The Ballykeoghan burnt mound.
Old Kilkenny Review 2008 60, 7–15.

Editor’s note: This summary did not arrive in time for inclusion in the bulletin of 2006.