Excavation — miscellaneous in Clogh East

Excavated by Kate Taylor (02E0657) as part of Bord Gáis Éireann's Pipeline to the West. This is the record for 'the various pits found on three sides of the well cut into the natural deposits, which are fairly impervious to water, and the pits would have held water for period of time, had this been required of them. Several of the pits appeared to have had associated structures, shown by stake-holes in the corners or by adjacent post-holes, and these pits may have been lined and/or roofed. These types of structures are commonly interpreted as being related to sweat-rooms or saunas rather than food preparation. In the absence of absolute dating, it is difficult to assign a period to the construction of the site. Fulachta fiadh and burnt mounds/spreads are, in current archaeological thinking, generally considered to be of Bronze Age origin, although historically they have been thought of as early medieval monuments. In the Clogh East example the presence of a medieval copper-alloy pin within a large burnt stone feature perhaps suggests a 10th-12th-century date for the site. It is not impossible that the artefact was intrusive, but this seems unlikely. Alternatively, there may have been two phases of mound activity, which would account for the few intercutting features recorded, although no evidence of a recut was visible in the fills of the large pit.' This description is posted on the web at the following internet address (accessed 3 August 2012): http://www.excavations.ie/ Compiled by: Denis Power Date of Upload: 8 August 2012