County: Kerry Site name: Convent Road, Curraghatoosane, Listowel
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 19E0251
Author: Ed Lyne, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit
Site type: Medieval charcoal-production pit
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 498309m, N 633908m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.447164, -9.495953
A programme of archaeological monitoring and excavation was carried out at Convent Road, Listowel. One isolated feature was identified during monitoring in March 2019, and required preservation by record (excavation) as preservation in situ was not feasible in this case. The excavation was undertaken in late April 2019.
The sole archaeological feature on the site was a charcoal-production kiln/pit, sub-rectangular in plan and measuring 4.8m in length (north-south) by 1.2m in width by 0.2 m in depth. The natural clay along the sides of the pit showed visible signs of in situ burning and the basal fill, which was 0.12m in depth, consisted of pure charcoal pieces, some of which were quite large. The charcoal was sufficiently intact in places to suggest it represented the remains of planks or timbers that lay lengthways along the base of the feature. Evidence of burning in situ and the sheer quantity of charcoal suggests that the function of this kiln or pit was charcoal production. The primary charcoal fill was sampled and Dr Lorna O’Donnell identified the charcoal as exclusively of oak.
A fragment of oak charcoal (0.3g) returned a 2-sigma calibrated radiocarbon date of AD 720–950 (1190 ± 30 BP; ICA-19C/0509). As oak is a long-lived species, however, with a life expectancy of anything up to 300 years, this date must be treated with caution, and rather seen as an earliest possible date range for the feature. In effect this means that the pit may date to as late as c. AD 1200. Nonetheless, this date places the feature in the most typical date range for this site type. There were no further finds recovered from the site.
Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co Louth.
