What is recorded here

Five thousand years ago people heated water in that kilmainham ditch, marking the hill with steam and hot stone. They lived beside the seasonal pond, buried their dead in nearby pits, and left a ridge of charcoal still warm in memory. The mound does not pretend to be grand; it records ordinary brilliance, where heat, water and patience made a place worth returning to.

Three hut-sites, a stone platform or cairn, some pit-burials and this burnt mound can be dated to the Early Bronze Age. This feature is Burnt mound 2 and is located towards the bottom of the N-facing slope of the hillock W of the S-N spur, and it is c. 50m W of a hollow with a seasonal pond. A possible trough was identified in a large pit (dims 3.2m x 1.5m; D 0.4m) with three hollows in its base. It was filled with a charcoal- rich burnt mound deposit (dims 6.3m NE-SW; 5.4m NW-SE; T 0.4m) that extended off to the SW. Some of the charcoal was vitrified, indicating very high temperatures, and a sample of alder charcoal from the trough yielded a C14 date of 2573-2472 cal. BC (UBA 12925). A larger spread (dims 15m E-W; 5m N-S; T 0.15m) of grey sandy silt with 10% charcoal overlying a light grey silty clay with 10% charcoal just S of the trough is probably connected with it. A contemporary feature is probably the large pit located just NE of the platform A (ME017-087012-) and is described with it. (Walsh 2011, vol. 1, 50-1) See the attached plans adapted from Walsh 2011 (figs 6, 7, 15) ME017-087_1 Site plan; ME017-087_2 Contour plan; ME017-087_5 Location; ME017-087010-_1 plan; Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 21 March 2022

Burnt mound in Kilmainham is an Early Bronze Age archaeological feature, likely used for ritual or industrial purposes involving heat. Its association with hut-sites, a stone platform, and pit-burials highlights its role in a broader settlement context.

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