What is recorded here

Twenty-eight shallow pits and scattered burnt bone mark a repeated cremation site beneath the Curragh, where pyres still smoulder in the charcoal-rich soil. The dead may have been burned in place before the ashes were buried, turning ordinary ground into a field of remembered heat.

Archaeological monitoring and limited excavation (Conway 1996. Excavation Licence No. 96E0257) took place during the construction of a seven furlong gallops (Wth 4.5m.; D 0.6m). Deposits of cremated bone and charcoal-rich soils were uncovered, the majority of which had been truncated by post-medieval cultivation ridges. Some 28 pits, four spreads of charcoal-rich soil and six concentrations of burnt bone were revealed. The pits were circular, oval and occasionally elongated in plan (diams. 0.4-1.5m; D 0.2-0.7m). The presence of pyre material amidst the cremated bone led the excavator to conclude that the remains may have been cremated on pyres in situ. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 18 January 2013

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