2009:671 - ARDAN, Offaly

Excavation was undertaken of archaeological features uncovered during unlicenced monitoring of topsoil-stripping in advance of gravel extraction in the area. A total of two features were recorded at Moleen Esker, Ardan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly: a ground-level smithing hearth and a small linear feature.
The hearth was sub-square/circular in plan with various breaks of slope at the top. The near flat base exhibited oxidisation in places in the base indicating in situ burning. Its single charcoal-rich fill contained much slag and occasional stones. Processing of a soil sample revealed oak charcoal, burnt clay and a very small quantity of hulled barley, among a number of unidentifiable cereal grains. Oak charcoal returned a radiocarbon date of cal AD 420–560 (2 sigma) (SUERC–27198), placing activity on this site at the very end of the Iron Age or start of the early medieval period. Identification of the feature as a metalworking hearth was tentatively confirmed through the recognition of slag and hammerscale from its fill. The presence of oak charcoal also verifies this interpretation, as oak was often used to attain the high temperatures required in metalworking processes.
A small ditch truncated the western edge of the hearth. It was linear in plan, orientated nearly north–south with a sub-angular terminus at the southern end. No diagnostic material was retrieved from its single fill. The ditch clearly post-dates the hearth and is therefore unlikely to be related to the same phase of use on the site. It probably functioned as a simple field boundary.