Cremation pit in Delgany

This final excavation report details the results of an excavation under licence No. 18E0608 at the site of a residential and commercial development at Richview House Bellvue Hill, Delgany, County Wicklow. The results of this excavation were described by the excavator, Yvonne Whitty as follows; 'Located on elevated ground sloping gently to the east within the grounds of and in adjacent fields to Richview House and associated gatehouse which overlooks the Irish Sea to the east. The site comprised a cremation burial site containing five pit burials in a linear east-west alignment over an area 6m by 2m. This site was identified in the north-east part of the field at ITM 727537 711317. An area 10m by 10m was opened around the features in order to establish the nature and extent of the archaeology and additional test trenching was undertaken to ensure that there were no enclosing features surrounding the burial site. There was no trace of any associated features ring-ditches or of any cairn/mound which covered the burials. Excavation was completed between the 9th-12th October 2018 under licence 18E0608 by the licence holder with the assistance of an archaeological supervisor. Given the possibility that two phases of burial were apparent at Delgany two C14 dates were obtained which confirmed this assumption, this was a multi phased burial site spanning the Late Bronze and Iron Age. Differing fuel was chosen for the pyre in the Late Bronze Age (oak) and Iron Age (ash). The cremated remains comprised five adults and a juvenile. This site also adds to our understanding of climate deterioration as evidenced in the pollen record in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age in the locality of Delgany, as evidenced by charcoal analysis which is discussed further in this report. The site is also significant in that it is only the second confirmed Iron Age cremation pit in Wicklow. It also brings the total to sixty-nine Iron Age cremation burial sites so far recorded in Ireland. The features were exposed 0.35m below the topsoil and comprise a linear cluster of five cremation burials in shallow pits that were contained within an area measuring 6m east west by 2m north-south. A total of five cremation burials aligned east to west were excavated and the fills were retained in their entirety for post excavation analysis. The pits were aligned over a distance of 6m. Four pits were clustered together at the west and a single outlying pit was located at 1.85m to the east of the other four burials. Post excavation analysis has confirmed that there were two phases of burial at Delgany. The burials were situated in a linear east to west alignment. There was no trace of a mound, carin or ring ditch surrounding the burials. Radiocarbon dating has demonstrated that the site was in use during the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Burial 5 (C12) has been dated to the Late Bronze Age (UBA-43516, 2829+-25, 1052-906 BC at two sigma calibration) and Burial 1 (S1, C4) has been radiocarbon dated to the Iron Age (UBA-43613, 1747+-25, 242-382 AD at two sigma calibration). Burial 5 was the most westerly and Burial 1 the most easterly and an outlier from the group. Charcoal analysis from the five cremation burials provides a clue to the phasing of the site. Context related variation is clearly evident in the burials with Burial 1 (C4) and Burial 2 (C6) dominated by ash (O Donnell, 2020). Burial 1 dates to the Iron Age and Burial 2 is located west of Burial 1. In contrast, Burials 3, 4 and 5 (C8, C10, and C12) are all dominated by oak. It is the authors assumption based on the fuel source and the location of the cremation pits that Burials 3,4 and 5 date to the Late Bronze Age and Burials 1 and 2 date to the Iron Age' (Whitty 2021). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Yvonne Whitty Date of upload: 6 May 2021