Excavation

'Monitoring of topsoil clearance at the site of Mounthawk/Ballynahoulart, Tralee, identified thirteen areas of archaeological potential, which were subsequently excavated. The majority of the areas were single isolated features; multiple associated archaeological features were identified in just four of the thirteen areas. Most of the features were isolated pits with charcoal-enriched fills and evidence for in situ burning; a large number of the pits also contained charred seeds and hazelnut shells. In Area IV a large linear pit measuring 2.61m x l.0lm x 0.45m was excavated. There is evidence of in situ burning in the base of the pit; after each use the debris from the fire was deliberately stacked within the pit. This pit was then deliberately sealed with a deep, silty clay deposit composed predominantly of medium-sized pieces of fractured limestone bedrock. In Area V five features were identified, consisting of a combination of post-holes and pits, all of which contained charcoal-enriched soil but were not burnt in situ. The most interesting feature is C.28, which originally functioned as a pit, vertically inserted into the base of which were two stakes. The fill of this pit contained three pieces of pottery and a lozenge-shaped arrowhead. The pit was later reused as a post-hole. None of the associated pits and posts excavated seem to form an identifiable structure. Given the proximity of this site to cremation pits excavated by Laurence Dunne in Mounthawk [KE029-237001-, KE029-237002-] (Excavations 1997, 87-8, 96E0390), in addition to the recovery of quantities of cremated bone, pottery and an arrowhead, it is reasonable to interpret that the site served a ritual rather than domestic purpose. Given the recovery of small samples of cremated bone from a number of pits excavated in the Mounthawk area, Dunne has interpreted the evidence as indicative of a flat cemetery of Late Bronze Age date (L. Dunne pers. comm.)' Description from ‘The Prehistoric Settlement of the Lee Valley, Tralee, Co. Kerry; A Landscape Perspective’ by Michael Connolly. PhD Thesis UCC 2008 Date of upload: 23 August 2012