What is recorded here

Thirty-six medieval pits and a substantial ditch emerged from yellow boulder clay in County Kildare during 1995 trial trenching. They held glaze-flecked pottery and animal bones from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, while the excavated clay may have been reshaped into flooring, daub or new vessels. The earth was not merely discarded; it was reused, tested and transformed before returning to human use.

In 1995, archaeological trial trenching (O’Donovan 1996. Excavation Licence No. 95E0265) in advance of a proposed Local Authority development revealed some 36 medieval pits, and a segment of a fairly substantial ditch (KD040-002045-). The pits varied in size (min. diam. 0.75m; D 0.34m – max. diam 3.94m; D 2.78m) and, while some were cut into one another, most were cut into the natural yellow boulder clay subsoil. All produced substantial quantities of pottery and animal bone. The pottery was largely Irish and included glazed and unglazed wares of 13th and 14th-century date. A large assemblage of soot-encrusted Leinster cooking ware was also recovered. The excavator suggests that the pits may have served a dual function: as well as being receptacles for domestic refuse, the clay dug out to form the pits might have been used for flooring, daub and pottery production. Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 15 January 2013

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