Cremation pit

The National Monuments Service's description

Archaeological monitoring (15E0125) by S. McGlade in Phase 1 of the archaeological mitigation connected with a housing development identified a prehistoric cremation pyre overlying small pits on a slight rise in a fairly level landscape with a slight S-facing slope (excavations.ie 2018: 032). All the features were completely excavated by the same archaeologist under the same licence. The spread of the pyre (dims 13.56m NNE-SSW; 4.22m WNW-ESE) was a mix of the underlying natural soil with evidence of scorching and thin patches of dark silt with inclusions of burnt and unburnt stone, flint and occasional charcoal (McGlade 2020, vol. 1, 34-6). The burning does not appear to have been intense and it was not cut into the subsoil. The pyre was clipped by a N-S ditch (Wth 0.8m; D 0.4m) which produced flint scrapers, charcoal, burnt bone, and iron slag from its upper fill. This ditch and the pyre were cut by a later E-W ditch (Wth 1.26m; D 0.36m). Only a small quantity of burnt bone, including some animal bone, was recovered from the pyre. Three small pits or spreads with some burnt bone were also in the vicinity. The remnants of a fulacht fia and other pits were also recorded in the same field.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 9 December 2021

References

McGlade, S. 2020 Preliminary Excavation Report. Readsland, Dunshaughlin. Licences: 15E0125; 18R0174. Unpublished report, 2 vols archaeology plan