2016:264 - BAILE NA SAOR BEAG 2, Kerry

Stage (iii) archaeological excavation at Baile na Saor Beag 2 (Ministerial Direction No.: A070) was undertaken in advance of the N86 Lispole to Ballynasare Lower & Ballygarret to Camp Road Improvement Scheme in County Kerry. All works were funded by Transport Infractructure Ireland (TII).

Baile na Saor Beag 2 consisted of eleven pits (Plate 1), some of which contained burnt bone, as well as one post-hole, a linear boundary ditch and later agricultural features. It is possible that this is a small cremation burial site dating to the prehistoric period (possibly the Bronze Age).

The activity at Baile na Saor Beag 2 was centred around a tight cluster of pits, initially identified during the test trenching in 2015. Excavation revealed 11 pits, one shallow spread of material and a post-hole. Eight of the pits were clustered together, close to an area of oxidised clay with three additional features to the south. The presence of burnt bone in these pits as identified during excavation and recovered from soil processing suggests that these are cremation burial pits. The pits were generally small and shallow in nature, ranging from to 0.13m to 0.36m in depth, and contained multiple deliberately deposited fills, with inclusions of charcoal and burnt bone. Only three of the pits were over 1m in length. The largest feature measured 3.14m long and 2.7m wide, but had a shallow depth of 0.26m. The primary fill, which occupied the majority of the cut, was a sterile silt. The upper fill contained charcoal and burnt bone, but was only 0.06m deep. Pit C3 was located slightly away from the central cluster of pits. This concave feature contained two fills. The upper fill was a dark blackish-brown deposit containing much charcoal and occasional burnt bone fragments. The primary fill was a fine-grained silt. Large flat overlapping stones had been purposefully placed in the base of the pit, although the reason why is unclear. A charcoal-rich silty clay had accumulated between the stones.

Post-hole C40 was located on the east side of pit C32 and cut into it. Its presence close to the centre of the pit cluster may indicate that it functioned as a burial marker post.

Aerial photo courtesy of AirCam Ireland.

A copy of the final excavation report has been published in the TII Digital Heritage Collections on the Digital Repository of Ireland. It can be accessed with this link https://doi.org/10.7486/DRI.gt550911q.

A report on the excavations undertaken on this road scheme has been published: Sutton, B. (2020) ‘Transience and Permanency – Four Thousand years of settlement on the Dingle Peninsula: Archaeological Excavations near Lispole and Camp in advance of the N86 Road Scheme (2015-2016)’. Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society, Series 2, Vol 19 (2019), pg. 35–62 (https://www.kerryhistory.ie/product/series-2-vol-19-2019/).

Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co Wicklow