Cremation pit in Rockfield, County Kerry

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.

What is recorded here

Read the whole record

Pit excavated by Michael Connolly for Aegis Archaeology under licence No. 00E0863, the results of which were summarised as follows; 'During the unlicensed monitoring of the digging of house foundation trenches for a private dwelling at Rockfield, Ballymacelligott, a large pit was partially truncated by the mechanical excavator. The pit was truncated on its south-western side, but around two-thirds of its circumference was still extant. The remaining portion of the pit measured 1.06m north-west/south-east by 0.74m and 0.6m deep. The pit was filled with three different layers of material: an upper topsoil layer, a middle layer of grey, silty clay and a lower layer of pure wood charcoal, 0.27m deep. Fragments of cremated bone were recovered from the lower two layers of fill, as were numerous heat-shattered red sandstone cobbles. The cream-coloured gravel subsoil that formed the walls of the pit had been baked hard and fire-reddened by in situ burning. The lower fill of pure charcoal appeared to have been redeposited, possibly following the retrieval of cremated bone, as it rested on a large unburnt lump of quartz, placed in the base of the pit. The pit is best interpreted as the site of a cremation, similar to those already excavated in the Tralee area, such as that at Rockfield I, excavated by Tracy Collins (Excavations 1999, 115, 99E0323)' (Connolly 2002, 148).

From the National Monuments Service (Archaeological Survey of Ireland) record KE030-073

Places near here

Photo credits

Maker not stated on source page, www.irishexaminer.com
Maker not stated on source page, www.dreamstime.com
Maker not stated on source page, commons.wikimedia.org
Maker not stated on source page, www.gettyimages.com
Maker not stated on source page, www.istockphoto.com
Maker not stated on source page, en.wikipedia.org
Maker not stated on source page, www.pinterest.com
Maker not stated on source page, monumentalireland.ie
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in RockfieldFairy fort / earthen ringfort · 400 yd

Explorer Tom Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Rockfield means 'Rock Field' but really refers to the time a giant sneezed and dropped…

Clogher Graveyard / CemeteryGraveyard · 885 yd

Explorer Tom Clogher Graveyard / Cemetery had a goat ruling the roost back in the day, or so the local legends go, which explains…

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Clogher (trughanacmy By.)Fairy fort / earthen ringfort · 1038 yd

Explorer Tom Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Clogher confused the Vikings so badly they sailed past it twice. No record exists, but…

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in ShanavallyFairy fort / earthen ringfort · 1046 yd

Explorer Tom Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Shanavally used to be run by a matchmaker who paired off lonely ghosts with stray…

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Ballydwyer EastFairy fort / earthen ringfort · 1125 yd

Explorer Tom Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Ballydwyer East has a local superstition that says if you trip over it, your socks…

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in KilkerryFairy fort / earthen ringfort · 1287 yd

Explorer Tom Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Kilkerry is stuck in a fairy dispute over parking rights that has lasted three…

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Ballydwyer WestFairy fort / earthen ringfort · 1401 yd

Explorer Tom Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Ballydwyer West would teach history class by showing us how much mud can actually get…

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Scart (trughanacmy By.)Fairy fort / earthen ringfort · 1594 yd

Explorer Tom Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Scart would tell you it’s a very exclusive club for dirt. It just sits there judging…

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in RathannyFairy fort / earthen ringfort · 1638 yd

Explorer Tom Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Rathanny is strictly managed by a very stern border collie named Gerald who barks at…

Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Maglass WestFairy fort / earthen ringfort · 1735 yd

Explorer Tom Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Maglass West would handle a nosey neighbour by simply closing the gate and pretending…

farm house2.1 mi

Explorer Tom Farm house in Flemby is in the middle of a feud between two families over who owns the view, and it’s losing patience.…

Bealagrellagh Castle (in ruins)Castle, tower house · 2.1 mi

Explorer Tom Bealagrellagh Castle is named after a ford in the mire, which suggests its builders had a really bad day with the mud…

More archaeology and monuments in County Kerry · All of County Kerry

Add to this placeAdd a picture Add a detailed tip Add a story

Explore the map1,095,414 places to discover