EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

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stones in the southeast and southwest corners. The shrine was located at the same lower
level as the primary lintel burials, 0.4m below the stone oratory and associated entrance
paving. An abraded sherd of Late Roman Amphora was found in the shrine’s upper fill. Other
finds from the fill of the shrine included a few corroded iron fragments. A number of burials
to the south of the oratory had a similar orientation to the above burials and could be roughly
contemporary with them.
Two postholes were excavated about 2.0m to the south of the slab-shrine at a similar level
and might indicate a wooden church but the evidence was insufficient to be sure. If taken to
represent one side of a building, the postholes did not strictly align east-west or have a
similar orientation with that of the other primary burials. A cross-inscribed pillar stone dating
roughly to the sixth/seventh century A.D. appears to have been excavated in situ and may
have marked the northern edge of the cemetery. It was surrounded by a group of packing
stones located at the same level as a nearby early lintel grave.
An extensive black habitation deposit was uncovered in the centre of the enclosure
underlying the Phase 2 dividing wall. A series of postholes were uncovered within the
occupation layer and may have defined a possible circular wooden structure. The structure
was associated with a hearth which contained a small perforated stone object within its
lowest fill. The hearth lay directly beneath the internal dividing wall and produced a date
range from the fourth to the seventh century (see below). It has been proposed that this
early date could indicate a preceding secular phase of activity.
Finds from the black occupation layer included a portion of a blue glass bead, a small glass
bead, a thin bronze rod and a possible portion of a stone mould for casting small rings. A
large quantity of coarse ware sherds were recovered mainly from the lower levels of the
occupation layer with sherds of imported Late Roman Amphora from the upper levels. One
possible E ware sherd was recovered from the top of the black occupation layer. There was
no trace of the black habitation deposit in the burial area and it appears that both the
primary occupation and the primary lintel cemetery were mutually exclusive and roughly
contemporary.
A shallow curving stone-lined drain was also overlain by the internal dividing wall and was
associated with the hearth and postholes. A number of roughly circular pits possibly
associated with ironworking were excavated to the west and south and contained sherds of
coarse ware pottery, calcined bone and small lumps of iron slag. Further pits were excavated
to the east and one produced a tiny blue glass bead at its base.
The basal foundations of a small single-celled sub-circular clochán (Structure G) with an
internal diameter of 2.75m and wall thickness of 0.80-1.0m were excavated in the northwest
sector of the site. The basal courses of the primary enclosure wall were tied in with the
surviving courses of this building and indicate that both structures were roughly
contemporary. The interior of Structure G revealed a series of pits, and a shallow drain
associated with both smelting and smithing of iron and possibly bronze or glass. Finds from
these features included a substantial quantity of slag, clay lining, tuyères pieces and crucible
fragments. Radiocarbon determinations from samples from the furnace area and pit are
unreliable as the measurements were derived from the peat used in the furnace, thus
producing a substantially earlier date (see below).
Structure F comprised a small single-celled circular clochán (3.50m internal diameter) with
walls measuring 0.90m thick and surviving to a height of 0.70m. The basal course of an
annulus (i.e. an arc of stones) surrounded the hut on its west side at a distance of 0.60m
from the outer face of the clochán and was used to contain blocks of sod for the insulation of
the walls.
The fact that the outer wall of the clochán was traceable on its east side also suggests that
the primary enclosure wall and this hut were built at roughly the same time. A small hearth
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