Pit-burial in Castleblunden

In a flat plain stretching E of the Slieve Ardagh Hills to Kilkenny City (4km to the NE) and the Nore valley, 38m S of the source of the Stony Stream. Uncovered during archaeological monitoring (licence no. 99E0756) of a Bord Gáis Éireann gas pipeline development (Stevens 2000, 139). A single cremation pit was found cut into the underlying yellow, glacial boulder clay (ibid.). It was a small, partially truncated, circular pit (diam. 0.5m; D 0.1m), with a concave profile (ibid.). The pit contained a uniform charcoal-rich fill with occasional pebbles and small stones, with 40% of the deposit composed of crushed cremated human bone, measuring 5-20mm in diameter, distributed throughout the fill but with concentrations to the middle and sides (ibid.). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 19 October 2020

Pit-burial in Castleblunden is a prehistoric burial, likely dating to the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. Its location in a lowland agricultural area suggests it may be part of a broader pattern of early settlement and funerary practices in the Kilkenny region.