2011:285 - BALLINGOWAN 1, Kerry

Excavations were undertaken at Ballingowan 1 on behalf of Kerry County Council as part of Stage (iii) of the Archaeological Services Contract prior to the commencement of construction of the N22 Tralee Bypass/Tralee to Bealagrellagh, which extends from Lissatanvally townland to Flemby townland.
Topsoil was stripped from an area of 29,007m² at the site, incorporating four fields stretching from a stream on the north over a natural outcrop of limestone and downslope towards the River Lee. For ease of recording the site was divided into three areas, Ballingowan 1a to 1c.

Ballingowan 1a
The earliest activity in this area, and indeed on the site as a whole, was an Early Bronze Age roundhouse, represented by a circular arrangement of eight post-holes defining an area 4.03m in diameter. It appeared that six of these post-holes served to hold supports for the walls and roof, while two deeper post-holes on the north-east side are likely to have supported the entrance. All eight post-holes were circular in plan and ranged in diameter from 0.18m to 0.33m. The entrance post-holes measured 0.37m and 0.45m in depth respectively, while the other six post-holes ranged in depth between 0.14m and 0.22m. They were relatively evenly spaced between 1.5m and 1.7m apart on the southern side but the spacing decreased towards the entrance, presumably owing to the need for increased weight-bearing. The entrance itself was 0.6m wide. The fill from one of these post-holes has been dated to between 2116 and 1881 cal. BC (2σ) (SUERC-37300).
Immediately north of the entrance to the structure were a series of shallow pits or post-holes which may have served to further define the entrance by elongating it into a ‘porch’. A cluster of stake-holes outside the entrance may have supported a light windbreak which was repeatedly replaced over time. The interior of Structure 1 was dominated by a central hearth. Clusters of stake- and post-holes were identified both immediately north and south of the hearth and indicate that objects would have been suspended over the fire.
A range of stake-holes, post-holes and pits were present within and around Structure 1 and many are likely to have been related to it. A band of features to the north-west of Structure 1 seemed to be domestic in character but no specific functions were apparent. Some of these are also likely to be Bronze Age, but a radiocarbon determination from one pit found that it was Late Iron Age in date (cal. AD 65–232 (2σ); SUERC-37301).
Following on from Structure 1, the next firmly dated phase of activity belonged to the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age. A series of concentric ditches on the northern side of the site appeared to form a cattle drove leading to a marshy area adjacent to a stream. A sample from one of the ditches returned a date of 895–770 BC (2σ) (SUERC-37303). Recuts were identified in these ditches, signifying prolonged use.
Two four-post structures within the area were found to be of Early Iron Age date. One of these was roughly square in plan. The post-holes comprising the structure were all circular, with diameters of between 0.35m and 0.41m. They ranged in depth between 0.15m and 0.4m. One of the post-holes was dated to 780–417 cal. BC (2σ) (SUERC-37301). A row of sixteen stake-holes seemed to extend from the southern side. The second four-post structure was rectangular, measuring 1.5m wide by 3m long. The post-holes were all roughly circular in plan and measured between 0.38m and 0.4m in diameter. They ranged in depth from 0.16m to 0.42m. One of the post-holes was radiocarbon-dated to 806–547 cal. BC (2σ) (SUERC-37301).
A possible structure was located in the south-west corner of the area. It consisted of an oval arrangement of features, which seemed to extend beyond the limit of excavation to the west. A sample from one of these features returned a date of cal. AD 903–1154 (2σ) (SUERC-37308), indicating early medieval activity in this area.
A range of other post-holes, stake-holes and pits (forming no obvious structures) as well as linear features were identified throughout Ballingowan 1a, between areas of limestone outcropping. It is hoped that further post-excavation work will allow some of these to be phased, but owing to the lack of artefactual evidence many will remain undated.

Ballingowan 1b
The features here were concentrated in a ribbon of silty natural between two areas of outcropping rock. In general there was a dense concentration of pits, post-holes and stake-holes across the area, most of which formed no definite patterns to indicate the layout of structures; nevertheless, two structures were identified.
The first was comprised of four post-holes in a rectangular arrangement measuring 3.8m by 3.7m. The post-holes were circular to oval in plan, measuring between 0.31m and 0.52m across. A small number of post-holes and pits in the vicinity may be associated with the structure. Unfortunately no datable material was recovered from the structure.
The second structure in this area comprised six post-holes arranged in a rectangular fashion. Overall it measured 3.64m by 3.4m and was aligned north-west/south-east. The post-holes at the four corners were more substantial than the other two. The corner posts were oval to circular in plan and measured between 0.36m and 0.52m across and between 0.32m and 0.42m in depth. The smaller posts were set in the north-west and south-east sides and were oval and subcircular in plan respectively, measuring 0.26m by 3m by 0.34m deep and 0.3m in diameter by 0.5m deep. A date from this structure is currently pending.
The earliest dated activity in this area was from a scatter of pits of uncertain function on the western side. One of these pits returned a Middle Bronze Age date (1411–1212 cal. BC (2σ); SUERC-37311).
Other than the aforementioned structures, some possible alignments of stake- and post-holes, which possibly represented light fences or windbreaks, were identified within a dense concentration of pits, stake- and post-holes in the south-west of the area. A post-hole in one of these alignments was dated to the Early Iron Age (790–421 cal. BC (2σ); SUERC-37310).
A post-hole within a cluster of features on the north-east of the area returned a date of 166 cal. BC–cal. AD 50 (2σ) (SUERC-37309), suggesting that this cluster of features represents Late Iron Age activity.
In Ballingowan 1b it was noted that naturally occurring sink-holes appear to have been utilised by people living in the area, perhaps for dumping, as layers of cultural material were identified within a number of them. The utilisation of sink-holes was also noted in Ballingowan 1c and on a number of other sites along the scheme.

Ballingowan 1c
This was the largest cutting and extended 322m down the south-facing slope of the limestone ridge. There was intermittent limestone outcropping throughout, especially along the western side. As was the case in Ballingowan 1b, the archaeological remains were found to be concentrated in ribbons of silty clay between areas of outcropping.
The earliest dated activity in this area occurred at the end of the Early Bronze Age and into the Middle Bronze Age. A non-defensive enclosure was defined by a curve in the natural rock outcropping to the north and west. On the southern side a pit and two shallow intercutting linear features extended from the edge of the outcrop towards the east. The eastern side of the enclosure was beyond the limit of excavation, and so it is impossible to determine whether the area was fully enclosed.
The interior of the defined area was flat and free of stone outcropping. In this area an L-shaped arrangement of post-holes was identified, as well as a cluster of stake-holes, scattered pits and post-holes and hearth features. One of these hearths has been radiocarbon-dated to 1678–1499 cal. BC (2σ) (SUERC-37312).
A large pit with evidence of in situ burning was located to the south-west of the enclosure. Repeated evidence of burning in situ was identified, perhaps suggesting that it was some type of kiln. The main cut of the feature was generally subrectangular and measured 2.3m by 1.5m and 1.4m deep. A ring of five stake-holes was found around the perimeter and may have supported a rack or superstructure. A date of 1682–1513 cal. BC (2σ) (SUERC-37318) was returned from a sample of the pit fill, indicating that it was probably contemporary with the Bronze Age enclosure.
A cluster of features of likely prehistoric date were identified 111m south of the possible enclosure described above. Probable prehistoric pottery was recovered from a circular pit in this area (identification pending). A rubbing-stone was recovered from a nearby feature.
Several clusters of features, including a possible kiln, and a number of scattered pits and post-holes were identified in the area between the prehistoric pit and the Bronze Age enclosure to the north. One of these features has been radiocarbon-dated to 1436–1269 cal. BC (2σ) (SUERC-37318), indicating further Middle Bronze Age activity.
A double row of post-holes on the southern side of the site provided neither material suitable for radiocarbon dating nor artefacts and so remains undated. The northern row consisted of sixteen post-holes in an east–west alignment. Within the excavation area the row was 30m long but it appeared to extend to the east beyond the road-take. The spacing between the features was between 0.9m and 1.3m, but on average it was 1m. On the southern side of the avenue eighteen post-holes were identified in a row that ran slightly more north-west/south-east. There was also a slight curve in this row. The distance between the two rows of post-holes was 8.6m at the eastern edge of excavation. It increased to a maximum of 9m just to the west of the limit of excavation and gradually narrowed to a minimum of 5.1m at the western end of the avenue. The southern row extended slightly further west than the northern row, with a total length of 33m within the excavation area. The post-holes were close together at the western side of the southern row, with an average spacing of 0.7m; this increased slightly towards the east to a maximum of 1.3m. On average the spacing between the features was similar to the northern row. The post-holes were between 0.36m and 1.4m across and between 0.1m and 0.39m deep. Geophysical survey in the field to the east of the site did not identify any features to indicate where this possible avenue was leading.
Iron Age phases of activity were also identified in Ballingowan 1c. A cluster of features at the southern side of the site were found to contain evidence for iron-working. The focus of the area was a rock-cut furnace. The central cut of the feature was roughly circular in plan and measured 0.34m across, but overall the feature measured 1m across and 0.4m deep. A sample from this feature returned a date of 382–186 cal. BC (2σ) (SUERC-37313).
On the northern side of the site a dense cluster of post- and stake-holes are likely to represent Late Iron Age activity, as one of the features was radiocarbon-dated to cal. AD 419–574 (2σ) (SUERC-37321).
A large number of features in Ballingowan 1c remain unphased, as they did not produce datable material. Neither can they be linked to any particular activity through a spatial association. It is hoped that further post-excavation work will allow further discussion on the function and date of these features.

Finds
Despite the excavation of over 600 features, only 27 artefacts were recovered during the excavation and a number of these were from topsoil. Included were seven sherds of prehistoric pottery, one musket ball and one non-ferrous ring, six lithic artefacts and thirteen other stone finds, including whetstones, fragments of rotary quern, a piece of a lignite bracelet and a spindle-whorl.
In addition, small quantities of burnt animal bone were recovered, along with a moderate amount of metal-working debris.

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