Burnt mound in Cookstown Great

Situated on a slight W-facing slope in a gently undulating landscape. Archaeological testing (04E0918) by D. Nelis (2005) at Testing Area 9 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified burnt mound material (excavations.ie 2004:1213) that was excavated (E003137) by P. Lynch (2010) as Cookstown Great 1 during September to November 2006 in an area of 948 square metres (excavations.ie 2007:1291). A spread of charcoal-rich soil with heat-affected stones (dims 9m NW-SE; 3.2m NE-SW; T 0.2m) that contained fragments of at least four carinated Neolithic pottery vessels with everted rims is associated with four pits cut in the subsoil and a hearth, but nothing like a trough was identified. A sample of hazel charcoal from the burnt spread yielded a C14 date of 4227-3978 cal. BC (UBA 12113), confirming the pottery evidence of an Early Neolithic date. The burnt mound filled a teardrop-shaped cut (dims 6m NW-SE; 3m NE-SW; D 0.2m) and extended beyond it at NW. Two shallow pits (dims 1m x c. 0.35m; D 0.1m: dims 0.95m x 0.4m; D 0.05m) and a posthole were in the upper surface of the spread. Four small pits (dims 0.83m x 0.8m; D 0.11m to 2.21m x 1.53m; D 0.08m) filled with clayey silts and with oak charcoal present were within 10m of the burnt spread. A sample of charred bedstraw seeds from one of the pits returned a C14 date of 768-521 cal. BC (UBA 11134) in the Late Bronze Age, suggesting that these features are unconnected with the burnt mound. A large area of burning (dims 4.2m x 2.4m; D 0.3m) that had an oxidized base and red silt and stones in the fill was 5.75m S of the burnt mound and is interpreted as a hearth. Some furrows ran through the area and one of them supplied a further fragment of a carinated bowl. (Lynch 2010, 5-8) See the attached plan from Lynch (2010, fig. 5) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 23 March 2022

Burnt mound, likely dating to the Bronze Age. Its significance lies in providing evidence of prehistoric domestic or ritual activity, possibly related to heat-treated stone use in cooking or ceremonial practices.