What is recorded here

Sixty pits and burnt bones mark a flat cemetery on the lower slope of Ask Hill, where smashed prehistoric pottery and post holes suggest people returned repeatedly to handle death and memory. The smallest pit is barely larger than a child’s outstretched arms, while the largest spans a small room, creating a place where ordinary life and fatal loss became entangled in soil.

This site was excavated (E3497) during 2005 as Site 37 of the N11 Gorey to Arklow link. Situated on the lower SW-facing slope of Ask Hill. Sixty pits were excavated in an area of c. 2000 square metres, but most of the features were in a small area (dims c. 20m N-S; c. 14m E-W) at the centre. The pits varied in size from a small pit (dims 0.4m x 0.23m; D 0.3m) to the largest (dims 3m x 5m; D 0.3m). Many of the pits, but not all, contained burnt material including burnt bone in varying quantities. Some pits had smashed prehistoric pottery, but glass beads and post-medieval pottery were also recovered. Fifty three post-holes and 150 stake-holes were also recorded, mostly at the centre of the site. No patterns were discernible in the stake-holes, but some of the posts may have marked particular pits, while others may have created features used in the cemetery. Mound (WX007-020001-) is c. 150m to the SW. (Martin 2008) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 16 March, 2012

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