Cremation pit in Hermitage

In pasture, at the base of the valley, on the S side of the River Shannon. Not depicted on OS historic mapping. A fording point (LI001-001----) is located c. 100m to NE. Identified during archaeological testing (License No. 01E0319) which consisted of an advanced topsoil strip, within the way-leave corridor for the Castleconnell Sewerage Scheme (McCutcheon 2001). The feature was excavated (License No. 01E0319 ext.) in Area B and recorded as C42, an oval-shaped cremation pit (2.3m N-S; 1.5m E-W; D 0.65m), which had concave sides and a N-facing slope at base (Collins 2001, 35). The upper portion of the fill C41, contained moderate inclusions of charcoal and cremated bone and the lower had inclusions of burnt clay, with some heat-shattered stone (max. 0.4m x 0.3m) at the base (ibid). The way-leave and spoil-heaps were also inspected for artefacts. Several axe fragments were retrieved in this exercise, as well as most of the worked chert and flint (71 fragments of flint and 116 of chert were recovered). Artefact analysis and dating are in progress. There is no visible surface expression of the monument on Digital Globe aerial photography. Compiled by: Alison McQueen and Vera Rahilly Date of upload: 18 June 2020