2010:778 - Knockrathkyle 1, Wexford

Knockrathkyle 1 was located on the proposed M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy scheme. The site was situated in a level field planted with oats that contains infilled field boundary ditches. Historic mapping shows post-medieval buildings nearby but no evidence of these was seen during the excavations on the scheme.
Two ring-ditches
Two ring-ditches were excavated at Knockrathkyle 1. A complete ring-ditch was recorded, which had an internal diameter of 3.6m. The ditch, which was 1.2m wide and 0.69m deep, had gradually sloping sides and a U-shaped profile. The ditch contained four fills. Some of the ditch fills slumped in from the interior edge, which may represent slippage of mound material. The basal fill was soft light-red/brown silt clay which contained charcoal flecks. The third fill was soft red/brown sandy silt which contained charcoal flecks. The upper fill consisted of soft charcoal-rich yellow/brown sandy silt. There were no finds or features associated with this ring-ditch; however, it truncated an earlier cremation pit on its western perimeter. This pit was oval in plan with tapering sides and U-shaped profile and was filled by firm charcoal-rich dark-brown silt clay which contained occasional burnt-bone fragments.
A larger ring-ditch, which had an internal diameter of 3.1m, was uncovered to the north. The western half of this ring-ditch continued beyond the limit of excavation. As with the smaller monument, there were no finds or features associated with this ring-ditch. The ditch had a U-shaped profile and contained three fills. The basal fill consisted of compact light-red/brown silty clay. The second fill was moderately compact mottled light-orange/brown clay silt which contained charcoal flecks. The upper fill consisted of firm light-grey/brown clay silt. Geophysical analysis carried out beyond the CPO (by Jo Leigh, licence R233) revealed at least two additional ring-ditches to the west and north-west, showing evidence of a larger cemetery beyond the excavated site.
Cremation burial-pits
Approximately thirteen cremation burial-pits were recorded across the site. The earliest cremation pit, as mentioned above, was truncated by one of the ring-ditches. Ten of the recorded pits were located east of the two ring-ditches which formed a north-north-east to south-south-west alignment.
Two main types of cremation burial-pits were identified. Some of the pits were quite shallow and saucer-shaped (0.29–0.88m across and 0.1–0.2m deep), while others had steep sides with a flat base (0.55–0.9m across and 0.23–0.4m deep). Each of the cremation pits contained charcoal and cremated bones. Some of the pits were sealed by an upper sterile layer of silt clay which appeared to cap the lower main fill of charcoal and cremated bone. Two isolated cremation pits were excavated: one, which measured 0.5m by 0.63m and was 0.11m deep, was filled by loose grey/brown silt sand which contained charcoal flecks and burnt bone. A second cremation pit was badly truncated by agricultural activity. It was filled by pale grey/brown silty sand which contained frequent amounts of burnt bone.
Pits and stake-holes
A series of stake-holes and possible storage pits was identified east of the cremation burial-pits. These features may indicate domestic activity. A circular pattern of eight subcircular or oval pits was recorded covering an area measuring 2.8m by 2.4m. Among these pits, a shallow pit with a diameter of 0.5m and depth of 0.1m was situated in a shallow depression surrounded by a layer of small stones, creating the appearance of a working surface possibly used for threshing cereals. All of the pits had gradually sloping sides and U-shaped profiles (0.22–0.51m across and 0.04–0.3m deep) which were filled with loosely compacted dark-brown/black silty sand which contained charcoal flecks. This area was interpreted as a series of possible storage pits. Two post-holes, a stake-hole, and a single pit were also found in this area.
A cluster of 72 stake-holes and pits was identified to the north of the circle of pits. Although the stake-holes did not seem to form an obvious pattern, the majority of these features seemed to form a north-east to south-west alignment with a second alignment from the south-west to the south-east. Given the large number of stake-holes, it would appear that there are several phases of use. A few larger post-holes were interspersed among the stake-holes and may represent structural supports for the heavily truncated remains of a building. Three shallow pits were identified central to these post- and stake-holes. A sub-oval pit, measuring 0.96m by 0.66m and 0.09m deep, had gradually sloping sides and a flat base. This pit was filled by soft dark-brown sandy silt which contained charcoal flecks. A fragment of prehistoric pottery was recovered from this fill. An oval pit which measured 0.72m by 0.62m and was 0.12m deep had gradually sloping sides and a flat base. This pit was filled by soft dark-brown silt which contained charcoal flecks. A third sub-oval pit with an uneven base and gradually sloping sides yielded four fills. The basal fill consisted of soft gravelly dark-grey silt sand. The second fill was soft yellow/brown silt clay which contained charcoal flecks. The upper fills were dark-grey/black sand silt which contained moderate amounts of charcoal.
An isolated sub-oval pit, which measured 1.36m by 0.75m and was 0.2m deep, had concave sides and a flat base. The main fill of this pit was soft mid-brown sandy silt which contained charcoal flecks and 31 sherds of possible Beaker pottery, dating between c. 2450 and 2300 bc. One particular sherd was identified as possible Rockbarton type (Eoin Grogan, pers. comm.). In comparison with later Bronze Age examples, the pottery had been well-fired and well-made. Due to agricultural activity, it is likely that this pottery was not found in its original location.
It would appear that there are two distinct phases of prehistoric activity at Knockrathkyle 1. The domestic Beaker represented one possible phase while the ring-ditches and cremations may represent a later phase of activity.
Boundary ditches
Two boundary ditches were recorded traversing the site. The ditch orientated north-west to south-east had a U-shaped profile and a flat base which was truncated by a boundary ditch in the north-west corner of the site. The truncating ditch, which was orientated north-east to south-west, had steep vertical sides and a flat base. This ditch was recut with gradually sloping sides and a flat base.
A series of root cavities, stone sockets, field-clearance pits and non-archaeological features were also recorded across the site, indicating a period of field clearance, land improvement and intensive agricultural activity.