Kiln — corn-drying in Pottlebane

Situated in a low-lying marshy area adjacent to a SSW-NNE canalized section of a stream that flows N into the River Blackwater. Archaeological testing (04E1058) by G. McLoughlin (2005) at Testing Area 7 of Contract 5 of the M3 motorway identified archaeological features that were fully excavated (E003179) by D. Gallagher in February 2007 (excavations.ie 2007:1377) as Area B of Pottlebane 3. An oval kiln (dims 2.7m x 2m; D 0.38m) had a primary fill of a loose yellow/orange silty sand with charcoal inclusions including cereals. A sample of charred barley yielded a C14 date of 441-652 cal. AD (Beta 247187). This was beneath a similar fill in which cremated bone as well as charred cereals were present. A sample of charred barely from this produced a radiocarbon date of 441-652 cal. AD (Beta 247186). A third fill of brown/grey silty sand also had cremated bone and charred cereal grains and a sample of oak from it provided a date of 422-596 cal. AD (Beta 247188). The fifth fill was a dark brown/black silty sand with frequent charcoal inclusions of oak, hazel, ash and maloideae as well as cereals including oats, hulled barley, wheat, docs, and fescues, as well as uncharred remains. A sample of hazel provided a C14 date of 546-656 cal. AD (Beta 247184). The uppermost fill was a grey/brown silty sand with frequent stones and fewer charcoal inclusions. The charcoal was from the usual species and a sample of hazel was dated to 539-655 cal. AD (Beta 247185). An oval pit (dims 3m x 2.05m; D 0.64m) c. 15m to the S had two fills of brown/black clayey silt beneath a brown / grey coarse sand with moderate charcoal and frequent stone inclusions. It contained the usual mix of wood and cultivated cereals. Surprisingly, no C14 dates are available for this material. (Gallagher et al. 2008) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 4 March 2022