What is recorded here

Two large pits sat ten metres north of a Neolithic house and a Bronze Age furnace, marking the third phase of activity at Richardstown. One pit cut through the other, suggesting a later hand reopened or redirected the earlier hole. Cremated bone and flint flakes filled the spaces, turning raw earth into a vessel for memory and loss. The overlap implies people returned to the same spot across generations, layering grief and ritual above the old domestic ground.

This was the third phase of activity at this site (Excavation Licence 99E0526) and consisted of two large pits that were located approximately 10m to the N of a Neolithic house (LH017-113----) and a Bronze Age furnace (LH017-114----). One pit appeared to be cut by the other and a token deposit of cremated bone was recovered from the later one. A number of flint flakes were recovered from the fill of both pits. (Byrnes 2000, 222) Compiled by: Claire Breen Date of upload: 29 June 2012

Pit-burial in Richardstown is a funerary feature associated with the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. Its proximity to a Neolithic house and a Bronze Age furnace suggests it may reflect ritual or domestic deposition practices of significance to early farming communities in the region.

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