Jennings, RP and Coughlan, T (2011) Archaeological excavation report, E3848 Ballyquirk 4, County Kilkenny. Project Report. National Monuments Service, Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

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Abstract

Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd (IAC), funded by the National Roads Authority (NRA) through Kilkenny County Council, undertook an excavation at the site of AR157, Ballyquirk 4 along the proposed N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford Scheme, Phase 4 – Knocktopher to Powerstown (Figure 1). The following report describes the results of archaeological excavation at that site. The area was fully excavated by Richard Jennings under Ministerial Direction A032 and Excavation Registration Number E3848 issued by the DOEHLG in consultation with the National Museum of Ireland for IAC. The fieldwork took place between the 2 and 15 January 2008. This site consisted of the remains of a complex of up to five burnt mounds and/or associated features alongside a stream over distance of approximately 120m. Burnt mound deposits were identified at three areas with the southern two consisting of troughs and pits with no overlying mound material evident. In essence, Ballyquirk 4 consists of five separate smaller sites, all related to burnt mound type activity, but each individual site differed from the next. Burnt Mound 1 was located at the north end of the site and consisted of one large trough and three pits that were sealed beneath a sizeable burnt mound spread. The trough contained a partly stoned base in the south-west which appeared deliberately laid as a platform or step, possibly to assist entry and exit. To the west of the spread were two further pits that may or may not have been associated. To the south of Burnt Mound 1 was Burnt Mound 2. Here a possible trough was dated to the middle Bronze Age and there were four irregular shaped pits to the west of it. To the south of the trough, possibly representing un-associated activity was a hearth, two pits and a small cluster of stakeholes. The stakeholes were adjacent to the hearth and may have supported a light structure, but not a building. All of the features at Burnt Mound 2 were sealed by a burnt mound deposit. Burnt Mound 3 lay to the south of Burnt Mound 2. A large hearth and a possible temporary structure/shelter consisting of nine stakeholes were recorded. Two other pits, one enclosed by the possible structure, were found. A number of postholes may have represented the remains of a palisade or boundary fence, demarking the area of the burnt spread. All features, with exception of the palisade postholes were sealed by a burnt mound deposit. There was no definitive trough identified at Burnt Mound 3. Burnt Mounds 4 and 5 were located at the south of the site and neither had any evidence for an overlying deposit of burnt mound material. Burnt Mound 4 consisted of a trough with a flag-stone floor and four corner stakeholes which may have supported lining for the wall of the trough or a small shelter over it. A second possible trough was located to the west. Although it was more likely to be a shallow pit, a rough linear arrangement of three postholes extended between the trough and the pit, but their function is unclear. Burnt Mound 5 was the most southerly and contained an elongated oval trough with a single stakehole at the east edge. It was dated to the middle Bronze Age, but is slightly later than the dated trough at Burnt Mound 2. The discovery of stone-lined troughs is significant because no other troughs of this type were found on the Road Scheme. It is likely that water for the troughs was sourced from the adjacent stream, although there were a few smaller pits scattered across the site which may have held water.

Item Type:	Monograph (Project Report)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Archaeology; Ireland; Excavation; Burnt Mound; Kilkenny
Subjects:	C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology
Divisions:	Biological & Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	National Monuments Service, Transport Infrastructure Ireland
Date Deposited:	20 May 2021 10:51
Last Modified:	26 Jan 2022 16:09
DOI or ID number:	10.7486/DRI.jm21j7345
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/14913

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