Flat cemetery

The National Monuments Service's description

Excavated in 2010 in advance of the N9/N10 Waterford to Powerstown road scheme (Licence no. 3009). A flat cemetery of cremation burials deposited within a number of cists and pits with associated stake-holes in an area c. 5m x 4m. There were a total of 5 cists and 5 cremation pits. All of the cists contained significant quantities of cremated bone. The largest cist (0.8m x 0.6m; D 0.5m) was subrectangular and stone lined and contained the remains of a cordoned urn recovered from the edge of an in situ capstone. A second subrectangular cist contained evidence for a perishable funerary container. The three other cists were subcircular and one of these contained an inverted and decorated vase urn. All of the cremation pits were subcircular and contained varying amounts of cremated bone and charcoal. One pit contained a plano-convex knife. The majority of cists and pits were dated using radiocarbon dating and pottery with a date range of 2459-2202 cal BC (UBA-13493) to 1882-1692 cal BC (UBA-13491) with the exception of one pit which returned a radiocarbon date of 3942-3707 cal BC (UBA-13489). (McKinstry 2009, 279-80, no. 1075; McKinstry 2010)

Compiled by: Mary Tunney

Date of upload: 22 October 2013

References

McKinstry, L. 2010 N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford Scheme: Waterford to Knocktopher – Phase 2. Archaeological Resolution. Dunkitt to Knocktopher townlands, Co.Kilkenny. Final report. Ministerial Direction: A032/000. Registration Number: E3009. Site AR034-36, Knockmoylan townland, Co Kilkenny. Unpublished excavation report submitted to the National Monuments Service, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Dublin.

Mckinstry, L. 2009 Knockmoylan. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2006: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 279-80, no. 1075. Dublin. Wordwell.