2012:365 - Site 7-12 Rathduff (Madden), Kilkenny

Site 7-12 Rathduff Madden was discovered during monitoring of topsoil stripping for the Bord Gáis Networks Gas to Great Island scheme (above No. 334, 12E0356). Site 7-12 contained a cist burial, kiln with an enclosing ditch and modern ditches.
An isolated cremation cist burial was found to the north of Site 7-12. The cut of the cist was stone lined, comprising of 16 flat limestones ranging in size from 0.12m to 0.3m. Once the stone lining was removed the cut had steep vertical sides onto a flat stone slab base, which lay directly on natural bedrock. There was a single fill with over 500 fragments of burnt bone recovered.
The kiln was located 3.3m to the south of the cist burial on the west side of the pipeline corridor, aligned east-west with the bowl at the western end, and was fully exposed. The bowl chamber was stone lined around its edge including some stone in the centre of the bowl that had collapsed in from the superstructure. The kiln had an associated flue which ran in a direct line straight through the kiln chamber, rather than terminating at the drying chamber. It is possible that the flue was re-cut and its direction changed due to prevailing winds. There were traces of in situ burning which would suggest the kiln was used numerous times before it went out of use.
A curvilinear ditch was 18.2m long, between 0.8m to 1.2m wide and 0.65-0.85m deep. It was located on the western side of the pipeline corridor and enclosed the kiln with obvious terminals at either end of the ditch. The fills contained a piece of flint debitage, one fragment of animal bone and some traces of burnt bone. The size of the ditch would indicate that it was bank and ditch rather than a slot trench and was likely excavated to control wind flow through the kiln.

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