2021:114 - Tinakelly, Rathnew, Wicklow

Archaeological excavation was carried out at Tinakelly, Rathnew, Co. Wicklow.

Fourteen areas of archaeological potential (AA1–AA14) were identified during the archaeological monitoring of topsoil stripping. Further investigation showed that the potential features in two of these areas (AA5 and AA12) were of no archaeological significance. Most of the areas contained a small number of archaeological features, with two areas (AA7 and AA10) containing more than 10 features. Most of the artefacts recovered – namely Bronze Age pottery sherds and flint artefacts – date to the prehistoric period. The exception to this was AA3, where a figure-of-eight-shaped kiln and two furnaces were identified. A rim sherd of medieval pottery, probably Leinster Cooking Ware, was recovered from the basal fill of the kiln and a quantity of metallurgical residue (slag) was recovered from the furnaces.

Two areas (AA2 and AA13) contained troughs and pits relating to burnt spread activity, which primarily date to the Bronze Age. In AA1 a hearth and a pit were recorded. Bronze Age pottery and flint debitage were recovered from the fill of the pit. AA6 contained a single pit. No immediately diagnostic material was recovered from this pit. The most interesting feature identified in AA7 was a token cremation pit (Plate 1). The cremated bone was contained in a basal fill, which appears to have been capped with a granite stone before the infilling was completed with a charcoal-rich sandy clay that contained small fragments of burnt bone. In addition to the token cremation pit, AA7 contained two kilns, 12 pits, four post- and four stake-holes. All finds recovered from the features in AA7 appear to be Bronze Age in date.

Two pits, two post- and two stake-holes were recorded in AA8. Flint debitage recovered from the fill of one pit and one post-hole indicate a prehistoric date for this activity. Three pits and a single stake-hole were identified in AA9. Flint debitage recovered from the basal fill of one of the pits again indicates a prehistoric date for this activity. AA10 contained two kilns, seven pits and three post-holes. All artefacts recovered point to a Bronze Age/prehistoric date. A single, large pit was recorded in AA11, with flint debitage recovered from the fill. Four pits were identified in AA14. A significant number of flint artefacts recovered from one of the pits in AA14 could indicate that it was an area where flint knapping took place.

AA4 contained a keyhole-shaped kiln. The shape of the kiln is indicative of an early medieval date, but no immediately datable material was recovered from the fill of this kiln. Straw fragments in the upper fill indicate that it was disturbed by recent agricultural activity.

The results of the excavations point to low-level, sporadic and dispersed activity across the south-facing hillside which constitutes the site over a prolonged period of time. While some evidence of post- and stake-holes suggests that structures were erected in the area in the Bronze Age, these appear to have been transitory shelters/windbreaks or similar, and no evidence for sustained occupation of any of the Archaeological Areas was identified. The Bronze Age activity seems to have been dominated by industrial processes such as cereal drying and burnt mound activity. The identification of a single, discrete funerary monument in the form of a small cremation pit is unusual in this context, particularly as it occurred adjacent to kilns and pits from the same broad period. The inhumation may represent a failed attempt to establish a familial mortuary plot or, though less likely, it is possible that other cremation pits in the area were subsequently disturbed by the later activity involving the pits and kilns.

The preliminary site interpretation has been based on stratigraphic relationships between features that were identified during the excavation works. It is hoped that further post-excavation works, including analysis of artefacts recovered from the site and obtaining AMS dates, will add to our understanding and interpretation of the site.

c/o IAC Ltd, Unit G1 Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow