2020:542 - Gortacurraun 1, Kerry

Stage (iii) Excavation was carried out between 27 October and 12 November 2020 at the site of Gortacurraun 1 in advance of construction of the N86 Ballynasare Lower to Annascaul and Doonore North to Ballygarret Road Improvement Scheme, Co. Kerry. The work was carried out under Ministerial Direction Number A070 and Registration Numbers E005269 (Excavation) and R000545 (Metal Detection), on behalf of Kerry County Council. The site was discovered in the western area of the Ballynasare Lower to Annascaul section of the scheme in the townland of Gortacurraun during advance Stage (i) Test Excavations undertaken in 2020 by Archaeological Management Solutions Ltd.
Gortacurraun 1 consisted of a ring-ditch, nine pits, four post- and two stake-holes. Three modern agricultural drainage ditches and two modern agricultural furrows were also found on the site. Two of the agricultural drainage ditches truncated parts of the ring-ditch.
The ring-ditch was penannular in plan with opposing entrances in the east-south-east and west-north-west, forming a northern arc and a southern arc of the ditch. Although a modern drainage ditch truncated the eastern terminal in the northern arc, it remained relatively intact. The ring-ditch had an overall maximum external diameter of 7.35m and contained five fills. The width of the ditch ranged from 0.24m to 0.38m while its depth ranged from 0.07m to 0.21m. Two of the fills in the southern arc contained burnt bone and charcoal. A quartz crystal and a piece of struck flint were recovered from the northern arc. A possible heat-affected groundstone fragment and an unidentified iron object were recovered from the southern arc. A single piece of struck flint was recovered from the fill of the modern drainage ditch that truncated the southern arc.
A cluster of archaeological features to the north-east of the ring-ditch consisted of five pits, three post-holes and a stake-hole. The post-holes and stake-hole formed a broadly rectangular shape in plan and may have been associated, perhaps constituting a light structure or possible windbreak. The pits ranged in size from 0.56m by 0.5m by 0.13m in depth to 0.72m by 0.57m by 0.27m in depth and apart from one pit which was completely sterile, all contained occasional to moderate flecks of charcoal. A fragment of a polished stone axehead was recovered from one of the pits, indicating a prehistoric date for the pit, while a piece of worked quartz crystal was recovered from another pit. During the previously undertaken Stage (i) Test Excavations, a second fragment of a polished stone axehead was also recovered as a surface find in this area.
Located to the immediate west of the ring-ditch were two intercutting pits. The earliest of the pits was sub-oval in plan and measured 1.65m by 0.56m by 0.3m in depth and contained a single fill. The second pit was sub-oval in plan and measured 1.23m by 0.71m by 0.26m in depth and also contained a single fill. The fills contained occasional flecks of charcoal. A pit located to the south of the ring-ditch contained a heavily oxidised basal fill and two charcoal-rich fills which may be evidence of in-situ burning or possibly the remains of a burning event deposited in the pit. The pit was sub-oval in plan and measured 1.6m by 0.71m by 0.14m in depth.
A post- and stake-hole were located to the south of the ring-ditch although were not associated with any other features. The post-hole was sub-oval in plan and measured 0.39m by 0.28m by 0.05m in depth and contained a single fill while the stake-hole was sub-oval in plan measuring 0.11m by 0.06m by 0.06m in depth and contained a single fill.
The nature of the site and the finds recovered indicate a prehistoric date for the archaeology at Gortacurraun 1.
Post-excavation analysis is ongoing and it is anticipated that specialist reports, including radiocarbon dating and comparative research, will further enhance our understanding of the site.

Archaeological Management Solutions Ltd, Fahy’s Road, Kilrush, Co. Clare