Excavation

Identified in centre-line testing (E4110) in advance of the M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy road scheme and set aside for resolution as Knockrathkyle 1 (Hardy et al. 2010, 11-3). It is situated on the E side of a slight col with slightly higher ground c. 700m to the W and a low hill c. 600m to the E. It was excavated (E4174) by C. Hardy when two ring-ditches, 13 cremation pits, and two possible structures came to light. An earlier Beaker phase may be represented and a resistivity survey identified at least two ring-ditches outside the road-take and the excavated area. An isolated pit (dims 1.36m x 0.75m; D 0.2m) located c. 8m SSE of the ring-ditch (WX026-088001-) produced 31 sherds of what is probably Beaker pottery, almost the only artefacts recovered in the excavation. There were numerous other pits and excavated features throughout the excavated area that could not be associated with any of the nodes of activity and some may be contemporary with this early phase. (Hardy 2012 5-7; 2013) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 29 November, 2013