House — medieval in Carrickmines Great

Breen (2012, 101-08) recorded the following details about Medieval House Site (Structure D) from Trench T11 at Carrickmines Castle (DU026-005001-); 'Near the eastern edge of T11, the remains of a multi-phased medieval house were found, next to an L-shaped spread of glacial boulders. In layer C2, above it, a high density of medieval pottery had been found. A platform of re-deposited natural was laid down to level the ground over the earlier ditch F758. The internal house area was flanked by drainage gullies on the northwest and southeast sides. These gullies represent at least three phases, which may correspond to different phases within the house itself, although the complex group of features within the house cannot easily be divided into features. The internal area of the house was represented by a shallow depression 4.50m by 3.20m where an area of ground had been compressed and flattened to make a floor. Eleven postholes were excavated inside this floor area, along with nine further features, some of which were associated with hearth activity but others may be simply hollows from stone clearance. Two groups of four stake-holes which have various possible interpretations were also excavated. Finally, three possible refuse pit features were recorded. Platform and floor surface The house was constructed on a platform of re-deposited natural comprising two separate contexts can be distinguished within the whole. Around the hearth area there was compact yellowish brown sandy clay with frequent charcoal inclusions (C2485). The rest of the house area was built on darker, orange/brown, gravelly sandy-clay (C2483). The difference in appearance and consistency between these contexts may simply be due to the constant sweeping of the hearth area. Alternatively the differences could reflect the presence of the large filled-in ditch F758 underlying the house. The exact relationships between these redeposited layers themselves and in turn their relationships with the underlying ditch fills are not known. Internal postholes Thirteen postholes were excavated within the internal house area. Although no regular house plan was discernable from the layout of the postholes themselves, the distribution follows that suggested by the foundation cut. Nine postholes (F889, F891, F968, F1235, F1239, F4026, F4050 and F1416) were large enough to be considered to have had load-bearing capabilities. F968 was the shallowest of these, at only 0.07m deep; it had a large flat base stone wedged into the bottom of the posthole. The exact function of these uprights in the construction of the house was uncertain but they could have supported cross beams or rafters. A dark spread (C2371) overlaid the internal floor surface and partially overlaid the charcoal spreads C2679 and C2732. It had built up over the internal floor surface because this was compacted so that it lay slightly lower than the surrounding area. C2371 was probably natural build up after the house had gone out of use. Between the postholes F889 and F1239/F1235 was a straight-sided strip of clean floor surface. This overlay a shallow gully, F4023, which is likely to have been a wall-slot for a partition dividing the house into two rooms. It was mostly straight, but deflected slightly in the middle by two of the load-bearing postholes (F1235, F1239). Although C2371 was not a very substantial layer (0.03m max) it was clear and it had some well-defined edges. The fill of posthole F891, C2427, was composed of 50% loose dark brown sandy silt and 50% small gravelly pockets. The stone gravel inclusions may have been originally used as a packing material. Another posthole which contained stone within its fill, C3003, was F1239. A further posthole, F942, was cut into the top of a larger pit, F890 (see below) which has been interpreted as a storage pit. It is possible that F942 was actually a small storage pit Three smaller postholes F1413, F1414 and F1415 form a small arc in the northwest corner of the internal area. They were almost identical in their size and their shape, suggesting their association with each other and perhaps a common function. They were all circular in plan, ranging from 0.14 to 0.15m in diameter and between 0.05m and 0.08m in depth. The small size of these features suggests they were unlikely to have held large load-bearing posts. It was more likely that they held smaller posts which supported a dividing wall, or partition, made of mud or wattle and daub, or a mixture of both. The relatively small number of postholes on the site of a building which may have had at least three phases of construction suggests that the walls of this structure may have been built directly on to the flattened foundation platform of sandy clay. Any further timber uprights used in the construction could have been either fixed in to a large horizontal sill beam, or simply fixed between the flattened ground surface and the load which they were supporting. It is unlikely that it was primarily a timber-framed structure, as no nails were found during excavation. Walls of mud and stone and a thatched roof are more likely, with timber rafters and supporting uprights with wattle partitioning. Central Hearth F872 This seemed to have been a rather basic hearth, with no evidence for any sort of superstructure. It included a large granite stone and the fire seemed to have been lit directly on to the ground surface. The hearthstones were recorded as C3203. The central feature was a large square granite slab, measuring 0.45m by 0.40m and was 0.15m thick, positioned on the south-eastern edge of the spreads of burnt material (C2732 and C2679). Most of the hearth activity seemed to have been focused around the slab, including the fire pit F1412 which was adjacent to, and even slightly underlying, C3203. The surface of the stone itself was blackened but showed no signs of fire-cracking. The stone may have been used as a base for the fire, and it could have been used for baking once the stone was sufficiently heated. However, it may simply have been used to stand a cooking pot on, or to keep the pot next to the fire but raised above the heat. One other large stone which was part of the hearth was a re-used millstone fragment. It measured 0.32m by 0.22m and was 0.07m thick; it was positioned just 0.13m northeast of the larger slab. It was evidently chosen because it was so flat and may have been a stand for cooking vessels. This smaller stone was lying on top of C3274, the upper fill of the fire-pit F1412. Extensive areas of the internal floor surface, under C2679, were scorched from fires lit directly on top of it and the brownish yellow clay had been oxidized a bright orange red or burnt black. The burning was concentrated around the slab stone with two areas of heavily scorched earth to the west and east of the large stone. There was no evidence of burning under the stone C3203—so these fires were obviously associated with that slab. 0.80m northwest of the hearthstone the floor had been burnt and left a crescent shaped charcoal lens with a small scorched earth patch adjacent to it. The crescent shape may have occurred where burning was focussed around a large slab that was later moved. Fire-pit F1412 Immediately northeast of the large hearthstone was a circular depression measuring 0.40m by 0.40m and 0.14m deep with regular sides and a flat base. A layer of charcoal (C3275) 0.04m thick covered the base and the sides of F1412. This charcoal layer was then in turn covered by C3274—a 0.10m thick light yellow sandy silt fill—the main fill of F1412. This appears to have been a fire pit. The large hearthstone which overlay F1412 by 0.04m may have been used to raise cooking vessels over the fire in F1412. An alternative explanation was that it was used for the storage of ashes or for baking. The pit was cut directly into the floor surface C2483. On top of C3274, was the thinner hearthstone/quern stone (Stone artifact. 73), and the charcoal-rich hearth lay