Excavation — miscellaneous in Carroweighter

Located at the crest of the E-facing slope of a broad N-S ridge, with the round tower of Oran (RO034-080003-) c. 250m to the SSW. A geophysical survey (11R0074) of possible routes for a re-directed section of the N60 at Oran identified a number of possible enclosures defined by ditches (Gimson and Regan 2011). Archaeological testing (11E0247) disproved many of the anomalies, but a group of four features in Field 2 proved to be archaeological, and elements of the field system (RO034-081003-) may extend into this area (O’Hara 0211). This is a collection of the truncated remains of 33 pits and two kilns, with some stake-holes and post-holes dispersed across a rectangular area (dims c. 80m WNW-ESE; c. 15m NNE-SSW) within the road-take and S of the enclosure (RO034-112001-). When it was excavated (E004888) most of the features that could be dated proved to be from the Middle Bronze Age. The pits can be separated into three clusters, but they produced very little animal bone and only some chert waste. A circular kiln and an arc of five pits were at the E edge of the area. A second cluster of 10 pits was c. 10m W of the kiln and a third cluster of 11 pits and the second kiln were c. 20m further W. The E kiln is an oval hollow (dims 1.23m x 0.83m; max. D 0.47m) with a fire-reddened base and fills of silty clays with charcoal. Charred cereal grains are recognised and a sample of hazel charcoal returned a C14 date of 1744-1620 cal. BC. The pits vary from circular (dims 1.62m x 0.65m; D 0.23m) to a long oval (dims 5.5m x 0.42m) but all have similar fills of black to brown clays with charcoal. The pits from the central cluster vary in size from small (diam. 0.4m x 0.2m; D c. 0.1m) to the largest, a shallow oval hollow (dims 5.4m x 2.7m; D 0.13m), but all tend to have the same concave bases and brown to black clay silts with charcoal. A sample of blackthorn charcoal returned a C14 date of 1265-1115 cal. BC. The W group of pits were of similar dimensions and had similar fills. A sample of hazel charcoal produced a C14 date of 1407-1233 cal. BC. One rectangular pit (dims 2m x 2m; D 0.25m) from the middle group with a fill of stones was also unusual in returning an Iron Age date of 337-53 cal. BC from a sample of bone beneath the stones. The few post-holes and stake-holes were around the edges of this pit. The other kiln was nearby but its figure-of-eight form (dims 2.6m x c. 1.2m; max. D 0.32m) and clear evidence of cereal drying in the charred remains of barley, oats and wheat, together with the seeds of weeds, suggests that it is medieval in date. However, most of the pits date from the Middle Bronze Age, which was when the barrows in the immediate vicinity were constructed. (Coughlan and Murtagh 2019) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 24 November 2020