2013:430 - Stedalt, Meath

Monitoring was carried out in advance of the development of an acquired brain injury unit. Testing carried out in May 2013 uncovered prehistoric flint tools, the remains of a possible cremation pit and medieval pottery sherds which necessitated monitoring of future development works. Monitoring and subsequent excavation of features recovered took place during August and September 2013.

The ground preparations were monitored across the area of the development site including a temporary access road, car park, building footprints and attenuation pond. A total of seventeen features of archaeological interest were excavated. The features were generally isolated and occurred intermittently across the development site, with the exception of the two pot boilers (F2 and F3) and the three cremation burials (F9-F11) which occurred in close proximity to one another. The remains of a possible cremation pit (F1), recovered during testing, represent a fourth similar feature.

Three of the cremation burials (F9-F11) were recovered within ceramic vessels and required specialist removal using a technique known as ‘block-lifting’. This method ensures that the entire vessel, including a portion of soil around it and the in situ burial within it, are excavated and removed in one piece. A professional conservator was employed to excavate each urn so that their in situ remains could be removed intact to the laboratory. The urns were ‘block-lifted’ by conservator Susannah Kelly with the help of the monitoring archaeologist and are undergoing post-excavation conservation at a laboratory in University College Dublin.

The pits F4, F6 and F17 may be associated with a curvilinear feature F16, given their proximity to it. The possible stake-hole (F7) and pit (F8) further to south-west, are located c. 1.5m apart suggesting that they may have been associated. The precise function of F13 and F15 (both spreads containing charcoal) are unknown, however they may have had a domestic function. The ditch feature (F14) is likely to be a relatively recent feature, perhaps associated with a former field boundary. Two features (F5 and F12) were found to be non-antiquities.

Five stray finds were recovered during the course of testing and a further seven were found during the monitoring programme. These consist of six pieces of flint and six pottery sherds. The flints have been identified as prehistoric tools and débitage dating to the Neolithic period. The ceramic sherds are currently undergoing analysis, however are provisionally identified as medieval and post-medieval. No stratified finds were recorded during the excavation of any of the features.

Prehistoric Domestic Activity

The features (F2 and F3) were pot boilers or single event firing pits which are routinely found within Bronze Age landscapes. The pit (F4) was larger in plan and depth and was more complex in terms of contexts. It contained a possible roasting pit at the base and appears to have been backfilled before being cut on the surface by a later pit (F17). The pit F17 also contains animal teeth, bone and charcoal, but no heat-shattered stone, perhaps indicating that it was a refuse pit. The features F2, F3 and F4 all contained heat-shattered stone, which is a typical indication of prehistoric cooking activity. Abundant charcoal was also found in relation to all three features, with animal teeth and bone being recovered throughout each fill of the deep pit (F4) which may have functioned as form of roasting pit. The pit (F6) and curvilinear feature (F16) may have been associated with the deep pit (F4), which had a probable external air source. The curvilinear feature (F16) is only 0.7m to south-east of F4 and may have functioned as some form of bellows or air pump. Combustion of the possible roasting pit (F4) may have been facilitated by forcing air through a tuyère (clay pipe), evidence of which was recorded within the southern side of F4.

The features F2 and F3 would have required a source of water to function given that they are associated with boiling pits. They would have required a location upon dry ground and a suitable clay lining, given that they had to effectively retain the water during the cooking process. They would also have required a heat source upon which to warm the stones, which in turn raised the temperature of the water in these pits, for domestic purposes. Finally, they would have needed a source of stones and food. These features are cut into the natural boulder clay and are aptly located on dry ground, just above the valley of the River Delvin. The glacial till in this area would have provided an abundant supply of small stones suitable for heating the water in the pot boiler.

Prehistoric Ritual Activity

The three cremation burials (F9, F10 and F11) and the remains of a possible fourth example (F1) are indicative of ritual activity in this area. They are found in a small cluster in relatively close proximity to one another. The remains of the possible cremation pit (F1) have no associated urn. If post-excavation analysis proves this to be a cremation burial, it is possible that either the cremated remains were deposited directly into the pit or they were contained in an urn made of organic material which has since decomposed. The cremation burial (F9) was briefly inspected and found to be contained in an upright ceramic urn. It may be a type of vessel known as a vase urn, which will be confirmed at post-excavation stage. The remaining two cremation burials (F10 and F11) were also within ceramic vessels, although these were not investigated in situ, in order that they could be successfully block-lifted and therefore preserved for laboratory analysis. No funerary pyre, hearth or areas of in situ burning were recorded within the existing development area, therefore the ceremonial burning is likely to have taken place elsewhere in the vicinity. This would indicate that this area, located just above the valley of the River Delvin, was the final resting place of these individuals but not necessarily the location of ceremonial activities.

Agricultural Activity

The linear feature (F14) is understood to be the ditch of a former field boundary and therefore of relatively recent date. It is likely to date to the early modern/early post-medieval period (c. 1500AD-1800AD).

This excavation has recorded numerous features of archaeological interest including three cremation burials, the remains of a possible cremation pit, two pot boilers, pits, associated features and artefacts. These finds and features indicate that this was an area of both domestic and ritual activity relating to the prehistoric era. It is not unusual that cooking areas are found in close proximity to burials given that the domestic and ritual features could span different periods of time from the Neolithic (c. 4000BC - c. 2400BC) to the Bronze Age (c. 2400 BC - c. 500BC) (Waddell 2005, 113). Environmental samples have been taken from secure contexts within these features. A range of samples have been selected for laboratory analysis to confirm a date range for this site through the application of radiocarbon dating.

Reference

Waddell, J. 2005 The prehistoric archaeology of Ireland. Wordwell, Bray.

Alison McQueen & Associates, Bunglasha, Glencar, Killarney, Co. Kerry.