Habitation site in Ballygullen (gorey By., Balloughter Ed)

Identified in centre-line testing (E4110) in advance of the M11 Gorey to Enniscorthy road scheme and set aside for resolution as Ballygullen 3 (Hardy et al. 2010, 42-3). It is situated on a shelf on a SW-facing slope and was completely excavated (E4205) by B. Sutton when a complex of three slot-trenches, 35 pits, 58 post-holes and 130 stake-holes were recorded over an area of almost 2500m (2), but no patterns were discernible amongst these features although some nodes can be identified. The slot-trenches (L 1.94m; Wth 0.22m; D 0.09m: L2.45m; Wth 0.78m; D 0.98m: L 3.56m; Wth 0.3-0.46m; D 0.15-0.28m) are all slightly curved and the latter two placed 2.4-4m apart may be from the same circular structure. The pits vary in size (dims c. 0.4m x 0.4m; D 0.07m to 2.3m x 0.84m; D 0.73m) with some of exceptional size (dims 3.7m x 3.05m; D 0.14m) and most of the nine pieces of flint, two stone objects and 84 sherds of prehistoric pottery are associated with them. There was one possible hearth, and two cremation pits (dims 1.15m x 0.8m; D 0.26: 0.55m x 0.45m; D 0.28m) were c. 1.5m apart at the centre of the complex. Many of the features were cut by post-medieval furrows, gullies and ditches. The fulacht fia (WX011-071----) is c. 200m to the N. (Hardy and Rajic 2012; Sutton 2013) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 26 November, 2013