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Eachtra Journal Issue 5 [ISSN 2009-2237] Archaeological Excavation Report E0647 - Garraundarragh / Urrohogal, Co. Kerry Burnt mounds Final Excavation Report N22 Gortatlea to Farranfore (Inchinveema) Road Improvement Scheme CONTRACT 2 March 2010 Client: Road Design Office, Kerry County Council, The Island Centre, Castleisland, Co. Kerry Licence No.: 04E0647 Licensee: Jacinta Kiely Contact details: The Forge, Written by: Jacinta Kiely & Tony Bartlett Innishannon, Co. Cork. Tel.: 021 470 16 16 Fax: 021 470 16 28 E-mail: [email protected] Web Site: www.eachtra.ie 04E0647 N22 Gortatlea to Farranfore (Inchinveema) - CONTRACT 2 ISSUE 5: Eachtra Journal - ISSN 2009-2237 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ ii Background ...............................................................................................................1 Site location and description ................................................................................1 Archaeological and historical background .......................................................1 Excavation Results ..................................................................................................3 Fulacht fiadh 1 in Garraundarragh townland .....................................................3 Trough Timbers..................................................................................................4 Fulacht fiadh 2 in Urrohogal townland ...............................................................5 Interpretation .........................................................................................................6 References ................................................................................................................7 Figures .......................................................................................................................8 Plates ........................................................................................................................19 Appendix 1: Context Register ...............................................................................23 Appendix 2: Matrix .................................................................................................25 Appendix 3: Radiocarbon Dating Results ..........................................................26 Appendix 4: Plant Remains ....................................................................................28 Acknowledgements Eachtra Archaeological Projects wish to acknowledge the assistance of Kerry County Council, Kerry National Road Design Office, Project Archaeologist Sébastien Joubert, Martin Reid of National Mon- uments Section of the Dept. of Environment, Heritage & Local Government and Denis Moriarty Plant Hire. Copyright Notice: Please note that all original information contained within this report, including all original drawings, photographs, text and all other printed matter deemed to be the writer’s, remains the property of the writer and Eachtra Archaeological Projects and so may not be reproduced or used in any form withoutthe written consent of the writer or Eachtra Archaeological Projects. Permalink: http://eachtra.ie/index.php/journal/e0647-garraundarragh-urrohogal-co-kerry/ iii 04E0647 N22 Gortatlea to Farranfore (Inchinveema) - CONTRACT 2 ISSUE 5: Eachtra Journal - ISSN 2009-2237 Background The National Roads Authority is undertaking a programme of works to upgrade the N22 between Cork and Tralee. Part of this work involves the realignment of circa 3.8km of the N22 between Gortatlea and Farranfore, Co. Kerry. Eachtra Archaeological Projects carried out a programme of centreline and offset testing, under licence 04E104, on behalf of Kerry County Council in relation to the N22 road improvement scheme. The nature and extend of a fulacht fiadh, identified in the AIS in Garraundar- ragh townland (Chainage 8059-8084 & National Grid Reference 92917/107315 – 92912/107296) was tested (Figure 2). The fulacht fiadh was subsequently excavated under licence 04E0647. In addi- tion to this, a truncated fulacht fiadh mound was uncovered during monitoring of topsoil stripping at chainage 8120-8137, (National Grid Reference 92888.43/107262.87 – 92885.86/107245.21) in Ur- rohogal townland. The second fulacht fiadh was excavated under an extension of 04E0647. Site location and description Thefulachta fiadh are located in the townlands of Garraundarragh and Urrohogal in the parish of Cur- rans and the barony of Trughanacmy in north Kerry, c. 4km north of Farranfore and c. 8km south-east of Tralee town (Figures 1 & 2). Garrandarragh is an anglicisation of Garrán darach or oaky under- wood. Urrohogal or Ura Seagail means borderland of the rye (OS Name Books 1840). The principal soil in the area comprises gleys, a soil type associated with rolling lowland. The associated soils are acid brown earths and peats which are derived from upper carboniferous shale and sandstone and glacial till respectively (Gardiner et. al. 1980, 36). The clay plus silt contents can be up to 80% in the subsoil (ibid. 79). The soils have a limited use range and are not suitable for tillage. The grazing season would be confined largely to the summer period ibid( . 80). The fields in which thefulachta fiadh were situated were wet and poorly drained pasture. The MacGil- lycuddy Reeks and Molls Gap were visible to the south. Archaeological and historical background The archaeological landscape in the general area extends from the Late Neolithic/Bronze Age to the Medieval Period. Prehistoric monuments in the surrounding landscape include standing stones and fulachta fiadh(Figure 2). Standing stones or gallaun/gallán are the simplest and most numerous of Irish megalithic monuments. Two standing stones are located in Garraundarragh townland (KE039 -106 & -114). These monuments have been interpreted in various ways. Excavations of some examples showed that they marked burials of a Bronze Age date (1400 – 700 BC). Others are interpreted as boundary markers or ancient routeways or were used to commemorate important ritualistic or ceremonial events or possibly as the remaining evidence of a once more complex feature. Some examples are found in isolation while others occur in close proximity to other archaeological features eg. decorated stones, wedge tombs or ring-barrows. Fulachta fiadh are the most common Bronze Age monument in Ireland. Two fulachta fiadh are located close to the route (KE039 -067 & -109) and an additional eight new sites were recorded. Three sites Permalink: http://eachtra.ie/index.php/journal/e0647-garraundarragh-urrohogal-co-kerry/ 1 04E0647 N22 Gortatlea to Farranfore (Inchinveema) - CONTRACT 2 ISSUE 5: Eachtra Journal - ISSN 2009-2237 were recorded in Garraundarragh townland within the area of the road take. Two were excavated by the author under licence 04E0647 & 04E0647extension, the third was excavated by N. O’Callaghan under licence 04E0646. A further five burnt mound deposits were recorded while monitoring topsoil stripping at a ‘borrow site’ in the same townland c. 80m to the west of 04E0646 (Fig. 2). The sites were located outside the lands made available for the road improvement scheme. The sites were recorded and mapped and covered with geoterim. These monuments survive as low mounds of charcoal rich black silt packed with heat-shattered stones and are generally situated close to a water source. In many cases, however, all that survives to the present day are black spreads with fragments of shattered stones vis- ible in ploughed fields. Fulachta fiadh are generally classified as ‘cooking places’, whereby stones were heated in a hearth and subsequently placed in a trough of water, the water continued to boil with the addition of hot stones and wrapped food was cooked within the hot water. The trough eventually filled with small stones, ash and charcoal that were removed and formed the basis of the familiar mound. The absence of animal remains and the scarcity of associated hearths have fuelled the debate in relation to the function of the sites. Other theories on their interpretation include bathing and dyeing textiles together with the production of hot water and steam for curative purposes and sweat houses (Kelly 1989, 225). Waddell (1998, 177) suggests the semi-industrial purpose of using the boiling water for dipping hides as part of the preparation of the leather, while Dunne (pers. comm.) suggests a relation- ship between burnt mounds and Bronze Age funerary rites and burial practices. Six new archaeological sites were recorded in the townlands of Gortatlea and Flemby on a previous phase of N22 realignment from Bealagrellagh to Gortatlea by Eachtra Archaeological Projects and Aegis Archaeology Ltd. A ditched enclosure (00E0779) measuring 16.6 by 15.9m was recorded in Gor- tatlea (Bennett 2002, 146). A complex of pits, containing Beaker pottery, a burnt mound and a ring barrow (00E0769) were excavated in Gortatlea and Flemby (ibid.). Two burnt mounds were recorded in Flemby (00E0245). Evidence of timber lining was recorded in the trough associated with one of the mounds (ibid. 145). The landscape is dominated by the presence of Early Medieval activity characterized by ringforts and earthen enclosures. Twelve ringforts are located in close proximity to the road (KE039 -017, - 061, -062, -068, -071, -072, -073, -070, -107, -108, -113, & -121) Ringforts are the most numerous archaeological monument found in Ireland, with estimates of between 30 and

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