2021:356 - Killalee 1, Kerry

Stage (i)a Standard Test Excavations, licensed metal detection survey and a Stage (i)f Townland Boundary Survey were carried out on 1-2 April 2021 on Lands Made Available (LMA) for construction of the planned N72 Killalee Shared Cycling and Pedestrian Facility, County Kerry, partly located within the Zone of Notification for Killalee Church which is a Recorded Monument (KE066-008). A portion of the LMA had been tested in 2000 in a previously proposed widening of the N72 at this location. This investigation resulted in the identification of a previously undocumented burial ground containing adult and child inhumation burials of eighteenth-century date adjacent to the upstanding remains of Killalee Church. Two pits containing burnt bone, some of which was identified as animal, were identified to the east of the church (Dennehy 2000; Dennehy & Lynch 2001). A Stage (i)i Geophysical Survey was undertaken by AMS on 16-17 March 2021 prior to archaeological testing, which revealed the presence of up to three curving anomalies which were interpreted as portions of ditches enclosing the church site (Dowling 2021).

Townland boundary survey
A Type B townland boundary survey was undertaken at the location of the boundary between the townlands of Killalee and Dromin within the LMA, which included a machine-excavated trench. The archaeological investigation revealed that the boundary, an earthen bank at this location, had been completely rebuilt in modern times.

Standard test excavations
Three test trenches were excavated. The total length excavated was 113.4m, representing 32% of the greenfield area available within the LMA for test excavations. During the test trenching, a single site of archaeological potential was found: Killalee 1.
Killalee 1 comprises a small burnt spread and a series of ditches that appear to represent the subsurface remains of an enclosure consisting of two concentric ditches that surround the upstanding remains of Killalee Church (KE066-088). The inner enclosure has an internal diameter of approximately 38m and an overall diameter of approximately 48m. Two sections were excavated through the inner enclosure ditch. The first, at the eastern extent of the enclosure within the LMA, revealed that it measured 4.65m in width by 1.62m in depth and contained four fills. The second, at the western extent of the enclosure within the LMA, revealed that it measured 3.25m in width by 1.1m in depth and contained four fills, while a recut was identified here that measured 2.62m in width by 0.7m in depth, containing three fills. The outer enclosure is estimated to have an overall diameter of 60−65m. A single section was excavated through the outer enclosure ditch at its eastern extent as the westernmost extent was not present within the LMA. The ditch measured 3.3m in width by 0.78m in depth and contained four fills. The burnt spread, located adjacent to the outer edge of the inner enclosure ditch, comprised a small, shallow deposit of charcoal-enriched silty clay with occasional heat-shattered sandstones. It measured 0.9m by 0.5m by 0.1m.
A third ditch feature, not related to the enclosure, was also revealed, which may be the remains of a boundary delineating the southern limit of the burial ground identified in the 2000 archaeological test excavations (Dennehy 2000). A section of this ditch showed it to be 1.2m in width by 0.2m in depth, containing a single fill.
No artefacts were recovered (100% of the sediments excavated from archaeological features and c. 20% of topsoil was metal detected as part of the agreed finds retrieval strategy), and at present the dating of the enclosure ditches and burnt spread are unknown. Given the nature and form of the archaeology revealed at Killalee 1, it is suggested here that the burnt spread may date to the prehistoric period, while a suggested medieval date for the enclosure ditches would not be unreasonable.
Bulk soil samples were taken from the ditches and the burnt spread during the test excavations and it is anticipated that suitable material for radiocarbon dating will be recovered and will be submitted for dating in the future.

References
Dennehy, E. 2000. Archaeological test excavation report, Killalee, Fossa, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Licence No. 00E0304. Unpublished report by Eachtra Archaeological Projects for Kerry County Council.
Dennehy, E. & Lynch, L. 2001 ‘Unearthed secrets’, Archaeology Ireland, Winter 2001, pp 20–23.
Dowling, G. 2021. Stage (i)I Geophysical Survey Report of Lands at Killalee Church, N72 Killalee Shared Cycling and Pedestrian Facility, Co. Kerry (21R0007). Unpublished report prepared by Archaeological Management Solutions on behalf of Kerry County Council.

Archaeological Management Solutions (AMS), Fahy’s Road, Kilrush, Co. Clare