Burial ground in Knockea

Situated on the SE-facing slope of Knockea Hill, in rolling pasture with good views to E, W and S. Roughly square-shaped area (dims. 8.4m E-W; 8.2m N-S) enclosed by an earthen bank (Wth 2.4m; ext. H 0.4m) faced internally with a dry-stone revetment (H 0.3m), with an entrance to W (Wth 0.9m). Excavated by professor O'Kelly of UCC in 1960 (O'Kelly 1967) who found that the area within the revetment contained the remains of at least sixty six inhumations as well as disarticulated bones. The majority of the inhumations were extended and orientated E-W with the head at the W in all but one case where it was at the E. Three child burials were orientated N-S. The graves were mostly simple pits without any lining. There was a crouched burial in the SW of the site. At the E edge of the NW quadrant a child burial was contained in a well-marked pit, the W and S sides of which had been set with small boulders. The fill of the pit immediately over the child skeleton contained 111 small water-rolled pebbles; 83 of which were white quartz and 28 various brown sandstones. No concentration of pebbles occurred anywhere else on the site. O' Kelly also recorded the possible foundation trenches of hut sites which pre-dated the burial enclosure and possible foundation trenches of a hut site which post dated the enclosure from which was recovered a blue glass bead with a white spiral meander. He suggested that the absence of grave goods indicated an Early Christian date for the enclosure. This excavation has been recently re-evaluated by Talbot (2019, 94-6) who described the monument as follows; 'Site I (Fig. 8) is located around 20m to the north-east of Site II [LI013-111002-] and consists of an almost perfect square enclosure, 18m by 18m externally, defined by a U-shaped ditch (2m wide and 0.8m deep on average) surrounding a substantial bank, 3m thick and 1m high, faced with stones at the interior to a height of 0.7m. Post-holes on the top of the bank indicate that it was topped by a palisade. At the centre of the western side is a substantial entranceway, which is partially stone-lined, creating a causeway. The ‘entrance’ to the causeway was marked by a pair of posts. The excavation uncovered 66 individuals buried within the enclosure, the majority of whom were orientated east–west. A number of exceptions were observed, including a west–east-orientated burial and three orientated north–south. There was also one instance of a crouched inhumation and a grave containing an adult female and a child. The majority of individuals (38 of the 66) were classified as non-adults (O’Kelly 1967, 74–7). A number of finds were also uncovered during the excavation. These were not clearly associated with any grave and therefore cannot be termed grave goods, although O’Kelly noted that ‘it may be that they were buried originally with particular individuals whose graves were disturbed at the insertion of later burials’ (ibid., 77). None of these finds is closely datable. They comprise four ‘strike-a-light’ stones, a stone disc, an ‘ornamented pebble’, an unstratified glass bead of blue colouring and a bone comb fragment (ibid., 79–82). In terms of environmental remains, a piece of honeysuckle charcoal was taken from the lowest level of the fill of a ditch in the south-east corner of the site, which overlay the bank of the burial enclosure and which may have functioned as a drain, as well as a deposit of oats whose exact location was not recorded. O’Kelly interpreted Site I as a ‘Christian period cemetery’ that, taking into account the number of individuals interred, likely served a local community living on the site (ibid., 83). As O’Kelly recognised, the burial enclosure excavated at Knockea I was an unusual find: ‘so far as I am aware, nothing quite like it has been recorded in Ireland up to now’ (O’Kelly 1967, 83). As we shall see, however, some parallels — albeit not exact — have been excavated since. They include Kilmainham, Co. Meath, an unroofed rectilinear enclosure defined by a post-and-plank fence, but open to the west, with two associated burials (Walsh 2011). A sample of animal bone from the primary fill (C2264) of the enclosure produced a date range of cal. AD 143–343 (UBA-15488; 1769±23 BP), while a birch charcoal deposit (C2244) representing in situ burning was dated to cal. AD 433–60 (UBA-12908; 1523±30 BP), suggesting the structure may have been built in the Late Iron Age and was potentially in use at the start of the early medieval period. The burials also date from the fifth and/or sixth centuries. Walsh tentatively suggested parallels with Romano-Celtic ‘sanctuaries’ or ‘temples’ identified in Wales and England for the structure at Kilmainham (ibid., 12). Similarities with Knockea Site I include its rectilinear form and western entrance, but there are also marked differences, such as the lack of a bank, the number of burials and their position outside the enclosure. Another potential parallel is Marlhill, Co. Tipperary (Molloy 2009a, 184; 2009b, 166). Here an Iron Age phase comprised a penannular ring-barrow with associated cremations, one of which was dated to 40 cal. BC–AD 130 (UBA-232706; 1950±40 BP). The early medieval phase comprised a rectilinear enclosure, dated to cal. AD 540–650 (UBA-233935; 1500±40 BP), with two associated inhumations, one located within the northern entrance of the enclosure. It was delimited by a fence and a centrally placed post-hole raises the possibility that it was roofed, unlike the Kilmainham and Knockea enclosures. Walsh, in his discussion of the site at Kilmainham, has interpreted this monument as being potentially inspired by the early medieval ‘mortuary houses’ of north-west Wales, which in turn have been linked to the Roman sanctuary sites to which he relates Kilmainham (Walsh 2011, 12). Aside from the rectilinear form of the enclosure, its walls and the inclusion of inhumations, there are more apparent differences between Knockea Site I and the Marhill structure. Nevertheless, though different in many respects, it is possible that both have some connection with such sub-Roman ritual and burial enclosures. The predominance of west–east-orientated inhumations at Knockea and the broad similarities with sites in Ireland and Britain support the possibility that this burial ground was established in the fifth or sixth century, or possibly in the seventh. Potentially, then, it was established around the same time as Donaghmore'. See attached labelled Hillshade image of enclosures/earthworks on Knockea, taken from Talbot 2019, 91 and Fig. 8 of Site I taken from Talbot 2019, 94. Compiled by: Denis Power Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 23 March 2022