County: Kilkenny Site name: Ballyhale
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 23E1018
Author: Siobhan Deery
Site type: Two pits and a possible ring ditch
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 653796m, N 635914m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.472005, -7.208190
Archaeological testing was carried out in advance of a permitted solar farm. The testing followed a geophysical survey (licence no.: 23R0400). The test trenches were principally located to investigate the results of a geophysical survey.
The site comprised two sloping fields in arable use, with higher ground to the west. The natural subsoil varied across the site. Higher ground in the western part of the site revealed protruding shale bedrock, sometimes as little as 0.1m below the surface. Otherwise, the subsoil comprised mottled brown silty sandy clay, occasionally containing loose large boulders and other times with frequent small shale flakes. Frequent patches of black mottling in the subsoil appeared to be the result of decayed stone.
The geophysical survey results were generally reliable, with several features highlighted in the location of the anomalies identified. Most of the features were of modern origin, while only two trenches, 10 and 11, revealed features of archaeological significance, denoted as Archaeological Areas 1 and 2.
Area 1 comprised two pits 1.2m apart. C10 was oval in plan. Measuring 0.28m northeast/southwest by 0.22m, it was filled with a friable grey silty clay with charcoal inclusions. C09, was also sub-circular in plan and measured 0.35m north-south by 0.28m and a test slot in it revealed a depth of 0.15m. Filled with a friable grey silty clay, it contained occasional charcoal and burnt bone fragments.
Area 2 comprised three features: a pit (C06), a curvilinear ditch (C07), and a ditch (C08). A circular trend was identified in the geophysical survey; however, it was barely discernible in the data. C06 was sub-circular in plan and 2.2m at its widest extent. A test slot in it revealed steeply sloped sides and a flattish base that had been oxidised red/pink from heat. It was filled with a friable dark brown sandy silt with small stone and charcoal inclusions with a depth of 0.22m. This oxidisation of the subsoil indicates the presence of high heat, and though tentative, the pit may represent a kiln, though no charred seeds or metal slag residue was retrieved during the excavation. C07 was 1.2m in width and had a V-shaped profile filled with an upper layer of friable brownish-grey sandy silt with charcoal inclusions and a basal layer of friable brown sandy silt with frequent stone and occasional charcoal inclusions. C08 was identified further to the east, measured 0.65m in width, and protruded 0.85m into the trench. It contained a similar charcoal-flecked fill as the upper fill of ditch C07.
While cautious of its interpretation with the limited evidence available, given the geophysical data, nature of the fills, and dimensions of the features, ditches C07 and C08 may represent a prehistoric ring-ditch.
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