2020:648 - Ballyburn Upper, Co. Kildare, Kildare

Archaeological monitoring and subsequent archaeological excavation was carried out by Shanarc Archaeology Ltd. at an existing quarry in Ballyburn Upper townland, Co. Kildare under licence no. 20E0185. Monitoring was carried out in February 2020, a number of features with archaeological potential were identified, and isolated from activities at the quarry; full archaeological excavation was carried out between 29th July and 17th August 2020.

The excavation area consisted of discrete features and clusters of varying form and complexity, with discernible stratigraphy within the clusters but no apparent stratigraphic relationship across the site. The earliest features consisted of pits and postholes, cut and re-cut into the natural subsoil.

Three phases of activity were evident on the site, prehistoric, early medieval and modern.

Prehistoric activity was represented by four flint or chert flakes and a possible hammerstone. The earliest datable features appear to consist of two intercut pits in the northern centre of the site, C.49 and C.52. Two radiocarbon dates were returned for these features. A Late Iron Age date for the fill of the earlier pit C.52 and an Early Bronze Age date for the fill of the secondary cut C.49. The hammerstone was found in pit C.52 dated to the Late Iron Age; this pit had been cut by a later pit that produced an Early Bronze Age date, indicating that the features must have been severely disturbed. The flakes suggest production of tools in the immediate area and may be related to an adjacent Bronze Age settlement excavated by Headland Archaeology Ltd. in 2009 under licence numbers 09E0128 and 09E0193.

The Early Medieval phase is represented by three spatially distinct groups of features and some outlying features comprising pits, post-holes and spreads that were assigned to this phase owing to the similarity in the faunal remains present in their fills. Group 1 consisted of two pits (C.41, C.86) and two postholes (C.39, C.89). Group 2 consisted of a number of pits with evidence for possible grain drying and iron smiting; frequent hammerscale implies that blacksmithing occurred on site. The globular hammerscale implies that objects were produced here and not just repaired. Group 3 comprised a number of ditches, pits and possible post-holes. It is likely that the features dating to the early medieval period excavated under this licence are associated with an area previously excavated to the north (09E0128 and 09E0193) and a pair of enclosures to the south.

The final phase on the site represents modern agricultural activity in the form of plough furrows, a number of modern pits and modern post-holes.

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