EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

Kerry
Clogher, Lixnaw, Co. Kerry
Early Medieval Settlement Enclosure & Burials
Grid Ref: Q89502940 (08950/12940)
SMR No: N/A
Excavation Licence: 04E0356
Excavation Duration/year: March & April 2004
Site Director: F. Coyne (Aegis Archaeology Ltd.)
A previously unrecorded enclosure at Clogher was identified during initial monitoring and
testing in advance of a residential development. The site was situated on a low hill
surrounded by marsh on its northern and western sides, and revealed evidence for an
enclosure with associated burials, a possible metalworking pit, key-hole shaped kiln and a
complex of pits and posts-holes.
The excavated portion comprised just over half of the eastern side of the enclosure
measuring 40m by 50m, and the original diameter of the enclosure was estimated at about
70m. Few definite archaeological features could be identified in the enclosure interior as the
site had been heavily trunctuated by intensive agricultural activity in recent centuries (Fig.
155).
The earliest feature on site consisted of a small circular ditch (1.4m wide and 0.65m deep)
which enclosed an area 21m by 10m. The site was subsequently remodelled and an outer
ditch (3-4m wide and 1m deep) was constructed. This enclosed a large oval-shaped area
(52.5m by 52m), although the full extent of this enclosure was not established. It was
assumed that the entrance lay outside of the excavated area to the west, as no entrance was
visible on the site. The ditch of this oval-shaped enclosure contained a sequence of fills along
its entire length.
A number of pits, postholes and other isolated features were scattered across the site. The
majority contained sterile deposits of unknown function and no structures could be identified
from the postholes. Several curving features were excavated in the interior of the enclosure
and may date to the original occupation of the site.
A small ironworking furnace was uncovered to the northeast of the enclosure and had been
trunctuated by a modern drain. A key-hole shaped kiln was also excavated to the northeast of
the enclosure.
The skeletal remains of at least 21 individuals with an additional ten possible grave-cuts were
concentrated in the south-western quadrant of the enclosure interior. All the grave-cuts were
aligned east-west, apart from one north-south example. The human remains were poorly
preserved due to the acidic conditions of the soil although men, women and children were all
represented.
A large number of cultivation furrows, drains and linear trenches criss-crossed the site and
appear to have been associated with later agricultural activity, particularly relating to the use
of the site as a domestic garden in recent centuries.
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