2012:341 - Site 16-4, 5 and 6 Coolmeen, Kilkenny

Site 16-4, 5 and 6 Coolmeen was discovered during monitoring of topsoil stripping for the Bord Gáis Networks Gas to Great Island scheme (above No. 334, 12E0356).
Area 16-4 contained two features, a shallow hearth and associated pit with no clear function.
Area 16-5 contained eight features, including two hearth features and six pits and post-holes containing charcoal and burnt bone. This site was located 190m south-east of Area 16-4 and upslope of Area 16-6 on a small hillock.
Area 16-6 lay 10m to the east of 16-5 in low lying marshy pasture alongside a fast flowing stream, and included a burnt stone mound and three pits. The mound measured 28.9m north-south by 18.3m with a maximum height of 0.2m, was a classic horseshoe shape in plan and consisted of a single deposit of loose black silty sand with moderate charcoal and frequent heat-shattered stones. Accumulated silt from repeated flooding of the nearby stream had deposited silt both above and below the mound. Despite being an extensive and undisturbed mound there was no indication of a trough on site and it is likely that this is located to the south of the excavated area. There was a pit located within the ‘arms’ of the mound that measured 2.3m long, 1.7m wide and 0.15m deep but it only contained natural and heat-shattered stone.
The size of the mound, and the fact that it continued to the north and south, would suggest that it represents an extended period of use, or seasonal use over many years, although the single deposit would indicate one extended period. With any associated trough located away from the mound it is possible that the community dumping the heat-shattered stone had some sense of spoil management and wanted to keep their work area free of waste.
The accumulation of silt layers across Area 16-6 would indicate that the nearby stream has periodically burst its banks, depositing silt across the low-lying area. With silt both above and below the mound we can see that this took place for an extended period, from pre-mound activity in the prehistoric period, likely through to the early modern period. OS mapping indicates that the line of the stream was altered between 1901 and the present day, and this may have been to deepen, widen and straighten the watercourse to limit further flooding.
At the southern edge of the excavation were two adjacent pits. The first pit appeared to be a dump feature for off-site metalworking as the fill was charcoal-rich black material and over 2kg of slag was recovered. The second pit extended outside the edge of the excavation and also contained charcoal-rich material and slag fragments.
Areas 16-5 and 16-6, due to their close proximity, likely represent activity from the same period, although radiocarbon analysis will confirm this. The features at Area 16-5 were, due to being located upslope, in an area that would have been constantly dry, unlike the low-lying location of Area 16-6. The hearth features in Area 16-5 may have heated the sandstone for use in a trough that remains unexcavated off-site.

TVAS (IRELAND) LTD, AHISH, BALLINRUAN, CRUSHEEN, CO. CLARE