2010:738 - Coolnahorna 3, Wexford

Coolnahorna 3 was located on the proposed M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy scheme, situated in grassland. The site consisted of a circular ring-ditch, fourteen pits, four cremation burials, two post-holes, eighteen stake-holes, and a modern linear ditch. It is likely that Coolnahorna 3 is related to Coolnahorna 1 and 2 (see Nos 736 and 737 above).
A complete ring-ditch, measuring 5.4m by 4.8m, was excavated at Coolnahorna 3. The ring-ditch gully profile was U-shaped, reaching a maximum depth of 0.29m. The basal fill was a mix of slumped material with patches of oxidisation. Charcoal-rich patches, in some cases with cremated bone, formed the upper fills of the ring-ditch. A possible earring fragment and a small quantity of slag were uncovered from the main fill of the ditch. A small bowl-shaped cremation burial, which contained a high concentration of burnt-bone fragments and charcoal, seemed to have been deliberately placed into the ditch fill.
Three cremation pits were identified outside the ring-ditch. A circular cremation pit, with a 0.34m diameter, was located 1m south-west of the ring-ditch. This cremation pit was filled with soft charcoal-rich black/brown clayey sand which contained a moderate amount of burnt bone. Three copper-alloy pin fragments and a stone bead were found in the fill of this pit. A smaller, subcircular cremation pit was located 8m north-west of the ring-ditch, which measured 0.7m by 0.66m, had vertical sides and a flat base at a depth of 0.18m. The largest cremation pit was oval in plan, measured 1.04m by 0.72m and was 0.15m deep with a bowl-shaped profile.
Two post-holes were identified, one of which produced eight sherds of possible prehistoric pottery. This post-hole measured 0.32m in diameter and had straight sides which tapered to a concave base. The post-hole was filled with loose mid-grey/brown sandy silt which contained flecks of charcoal and small stones, which may have acted as post packing. The second post-hole was found at the west side of a cluster of six pits and sixteen stake-holes.
A large subcircular pit identified among this cluster measured 0.91m by 0.8m, was 0.3m deep and had sloping sides with a rounded base. The fill of this pit was moderately loose dark black/grey silty clay with a moderate amount of charcoal and yielded approximately eighteen sherds of possible prehistoric pottery. Within 3m of this pit was a second, similarly shaped pit that measured 1m by 0.91m and was 0.22m deep with sixteen prehistoric pottery sherds in its fill. Eight more sherds were found in a nearby pit, which measured 1m by 0.8m. A smaller, subcircular pit, measuring 0.5m by 0.34m by 0.15m deep, also yielded a piece of prehistoric pottery in a mid-brown sandy clay fill.
Approximately 2.5m north of the cluster, a modern linear feature with vertical sides and a flat base traversed the site in an east–west orientation. This modern ditch or field drain was 0.65m wide and 0.35m deep, and was filled with stony, loose brown sandy silt.
Approximately 54 pieces of prehistoric pottery in total were recovered at Coolnahorna 3.