Burnt mound

The National Monuments Service's description

In the SE foothills of the Ox Mountains, in an area of level, damp ground, at the N margins of steeply-sloping field of rough, heather-grown pasture which was converted to forestry in December 2016. This burnt mound was discovered during archaeological monitoring of the forestry works. It is exposed in section in a forestry trench. A dense layer (L 5m NE−SW; D 0.25-3m) of small, angular, heat-shattered stone fragments in black, charcoal-rich soil is visible in both section faces of the trench (Wth 0.7m; D 0.55-6m). The layer extends to the full depth of the trench, and is directly overlain by a peat layer (D 0.3-0.4m) which underlies sod (D 0.1m). There is no trace of the burnt layer in a parallel forestry trench located 5m to SE. A very slight rise in ground level is evident in the grassy margin between the trench and the field wall which lies 4m to NW, but the full extent of the burnt mound is unclear. Another burnt mound (MA061-224----), cut by the same trench, is located 12m to NE, and a third (MA061-226----) is located 20m to SE.

Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy

Date of upload: 24 January 2017