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Issue 4 [ISSN 2009-2237] Archaeological Excavation Report E0475 - Dungeer, Co. Wexford Metalworking pits Eachtra Journal

Archaeological Excavation Report E0475 - Dungeer, Co. Wexford, Ireland - EAP Journal

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The two cut features excavated at Dungeer were small pits that were used for metalworking. Both pits demonstrated evidence of oxidisation and had fills which contained slag. The analysis of industrial residues confirmed that these were bowl furnaces used for smelting ore. The only metal type worked at the site was iron, with bog ore almost certainly the main raw material.

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Page 1: Archaeological Excavation Report E0475 - Dungeer, Co. Wexford, Ireland - EAP Journal

Issue 4 [ISSN 2009-2237]

Archaeological Excavation ReportE0475 - Dungeer, Co. Wexford

Metalworking pits

Eachtra Journal

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The Forge,Innishannon, Co. Cork.Tel.: 021 470 16 16Fax: 021 470 16 28E-mail: [email protected] Site: www.eachtra.ie

Contact details:

December 2009

Written by:

Client:

Final Excavation Report,Dungeer,N25 Harristown to Rathsillagh,Co. Wexford

Wexford County Councilc/o Tramore House Road Design Office,Tramore,Co. Wexford

00E0475

Daniel Noonan

Daniel Noonan & Penny Johnston

Licence No.:

Licensee:

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Table of Contents

i Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ iv

1 Summary ............................................................................................................1

2 Introduction .......................................................................................................1

3 Methodology ......................................................................................................1

4 Description of Development ...............................................................................1

5 Background to the excavation area ......................................................................1

6 Archaeological & Historical Background ............................................................2

6.1 Mesolithic 7000-4000 BC...........................................................................2

6.2 Neolithic 4000-2500 BC ........................................................................ 2

6.3 Bronze Age 2500-500 BC ....................................................................... 3

6.4 Iron Age 500 BC-500 AD ....................................................................... 3

6.5 Early Medieval 500 AD-1169 AD ........................................................... 4

6.6 Later Medieval 1169 AD-1600 AD ......................................................... 4

6.7 Post-Medieval (after 1600 AD) ............................................................... 5

7 Site Location and Topography ............................................................................5

8 Results ................................................................................................................5

9 Artefacts .............................................................................................................6

10 Industrial Residues .............................................................................................6

11 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................6

12 Bibliography .......................................................................................................7

13 Figures .............................................................................................................9

14 Plates ...............................................................................................................14

13 Appendices ........................................................................................................ 15

13.1 Appendix 1 Context Register .......................................................................15

13.2 Appendix 2 Stratigraphic Matrix .................................................................16

13.3 Appendix 3 Industrial Residues............................................................ 17

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Discovery map showing the route of the N25 Rathsillagh-Harristown roadFigure 2: Ordnance Survey 1st edition showing the route of the N25 Rathsillagh-Harristown road Figure 3: RMP (Map sheet 36) showing the route of the N25 Rathsillagh-Harristown road Figure 4: Route of new road with all excavated sites displayedFigure 5: Plan of the excavated area at Dungeer, Co. Wexford (00E0475) showing the two metalwoing pits

List of Plates

Plate 1: Post-excavation of two metalworking pits (cuts C.3 and C.4) Plate 2: Pre-excavation of two metalworking pits (deposits C.1 and C.2)

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i Acknowledgements

Project Manager: Michael TierneyLicensee: Daniel NoonanField staff: Karen Ward, Tommy DesmondText: Daniel Noonan, Tina Murphy, Antonia Doolan, Penny JohnstonPhotography: Karen WardIllustrations: Bernice Kelly, Enda O’ Mahony, Robin Turk

This project was entirely funded by Wexford County Council, under the National Development Plan.

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1 SummaryCounty WexfordTownland DungeerParish TaghmonCivil Parish KilgarvanBarony Shelmaliere westNational Grid Co-ordinates 290367 123176Chainage 5575Site type Metalworking pitsExcavation Licence Number 00E0475

2 IntroductionThe Rathsillagh to Harristown Little realignment scheme in Co. Wexford resulted in the discovery of several new archaeological sites including two pits found during the topsoil stripping phase of the project (State monitoring licence 00E379). The features were subsequently excavated under excavation licence number 00E0475. The presence of slag in both fills indicated that they were used for metal-working and the absence of any evidence for re-cutting or cleaning out of the pits suggested that use of the site was relatively short-lived.

3 MethodologyThe features were excavated by hand, utilising the single context recording system. Slag was collected from both contexts for the analysis of industrial waste.

4 Description of DevelopmentThe N25 is the main southern east to west route, traversing the counties of Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny and Wexford. It links the port of Rosslare Harbour with Cork City, via New Ross, Waterford City, Dungarvan and Youghal. A section of the N25 route between the townlands of Rathsillagh and Har-ristown Little was selected for upgrading, as the old road comprised a single carriageway in either direction, with several ‘blind’ junctions, and in many cases only a hedge separating farmland from the road. The new route sought to straighten and level out the N25 and to provide a wider single car-riageway with hard shoulder in either direction, in keeping with the Barntown scheme completed in 1998 (Fig. 1).

5 Background to the excavation areaThe 8.5 km route of the new road crosses a series of low, undulating hills, to the south of the old N25 route, and is situated at a height of between 45 m and 80 m above sea level. The landscape here is characterised by small hills, interspersed with many small streams; these eventually flow into the River Corock to the southwest, into the Slaney to the northwest, as well as feeding into Ballyteige Bay to the south. From its western beginning in Rathsillagh townland the routeway climbs gently, running parallel and to the south of the old N25. It then continues through Assagart, Ballyvergin, Shanowle, Camaross, Carrowreagh, Dungeer, Bricketstown and through into Harristown Little, eventually exit-

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ing in Harristown Big townland and tying into the Barntown improvement which opened in 1998.The higher ground was lush pasture, well drained, and gave spectacular views all around. Sites on this part of the route included prehistoric settlement activity and a series of medieval kilns. Conversely, the lower ground in Camaross, Carrowreagh and Dungeer was quite marshy and prone to growth of gorse. Sites traditionally associated with low-lying ground were found in these townlands, for example a burnt mound at Dungeer and a moated site at Carrowreagh.

6 Archaeological & Historical BackgroundThere are thirteen recorded archaeological monument sites within 1 km either side of the development; one is a church and graveyard site, nine are listed as enclosure sites of between 30 m and 60 m in di-ameter and three are moated sites (two of which are destroyed). The ecclesiastical site apparently dates to the medieval period as there is a fragment of a medieval grave cover in the graveyard and the site was originally surrounded by a circular bank (Moore 1996, 129). The enclosures most likely represent the raths and ringforts of the early medieval period (Moore 1996, 28). Prior to these excavations, the known archaeological remains in the locality were all medieval and post-medieval but several prehis-toric sites were identified during the course of this programme of excavation along the N25 route-way, including Neolithic material at Harristown Big, Bronze Age sites at Dungeer, Ballyvergin and Har-ristown Big and Iron Age activity at two sites in Bricketstown.

6.1 Mesolithic 7000-4000 BCThe earliest known human occupation of Ireland dates to the Mesolithic period (c. 7000-4000 BC). Lithic scatters from the period have been found along the banks of the Barrow river in counties Wex-ford and Waterford (Green and Zvelebil 1990). Some diagnostic Mesolithic stone artefacts were also found in Camolin, in north Wexford, and along the eastern coastline between Carnsore and Kilm-ichael point (Stout 1987, 3). However, most activity is identified in resource-rich locations by riversides and coastlines and there is no known evidence for Mesolithic activity within the area affected by the roadtake.

6.2 Neolithic 4000-2500 BCThere is piecemeal evidence for Neolithic occupation in County Wexford. Stout’s (1987) distribution map of Neolithic remains includes evidence for one single burial site, fifteen find spots for flint and stone atefacts, two portal tombs and seven other possible megalithic tombs. Work on the Archaeologi-cal Survey of Ireland reduced the number of other possible megaliths from seven to five (Moore 1996). Subsequent excavation work has increased the extent of knowledge concerning Neolithic settlement in the county. Early Neolithic pottery was found by McLoughlin (2004) at Kerlogue (02E0606) and at a pit and a hearth excavated under licence 00E0630 at Courtlands East (Purcell 2001). Later Neolithic activity in the county is indicated by Sandhills ware, discovered during an excavation (02E0434) in a pit at St. Vogues (Purcell 2004). An undated excavation at MacMurroughs (1985:59) also uncovered a number of flints and a ground stone axe, associated with a hearth and pit may also be Neolithic in date (Cotter 1986). Some evidence for Neolithic activity was found as part of this project at Harristown

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Big (00E0424) where Neolithic pottery was discovered at a site where various pits and stakeholes were excavated. Early Neolithic and possible Middle Neolithic wares were found.

6.3 Bronze Age 2500-500 BCSome of the earliest Bronze Age finds from Co. Wexford are three chance finds of Beaker gold discs (only one with a provenance). Other Bronze Age metal finds from the county includes hoards of both Early and Late Bronze Age artefacts, e.g. at Cahore Point, a cave at Nash, Ballyvadden, Enniscorthy, Forth Commons and New Ross (Stout 1987, 9-10, 22). At Ballyvadden the Late Bronze Age metal ob-jects were found within a ceramic container, a unique feature in Irish hoards, but apparently common on the continent during the period (Stout 1987, 22). Burnt mounds are the most common Bronze Age site-types found in Ireland and sixty-three such sites were identified in the Archaeological Inventory for the county (Moore 1996) and since the survey work several have been excavated in the county; examples were found at Strandfield (McCarthy 2004) and along the routes of the N30 (Enniscorthy to Clonroche) and the N11 (Arklow to Gorey) roads (www.nra.ie). Only one burnt mound was excavated during works on the Rathsillagh-Harristown realign-ment of the N25; this was found at Dungeer 00E0474. Much of our evidence for Bronze Age activity in Wexford to date has come from burials. There is a recognised concentration of cist-type burials in Co. Wexford; these are commonly thought to date to the Early Bronze Age. Stout (1987) identified more than thirty-seven identified but many were not well documented and Moore (1996) could only pinpoint the locations of only twenty-five cist and pit burials in total. Several other burials with diagnostic Bronze Age pottery have since been found during excavation: there was a cordoned urn burial at Ballintubbrid, vase urn burials at Coolnaboy, Gorey Corporation Lands and Kilmurry, a cist with a tripartite bowl at Knockbrack and a ring ditch with cremation burials at Ferns Lower (Bennett 2004-5). Another ring-ditch was found at Kerlogue Sites 4 and 5 and a large round house excavated at Kerlogue Site 2 was probably also of Bronze Age date (McLoughlin 2004). The excavations from the Rathsillagh-Harristown road scheme included one Early-Middle Bronze Age site at Ballyvergin where hot-stone technology was used in association with metalworking. Another metalworking site was found at Harristown Big (00E0425) where a series of Late Bronze Age metalworking pits and crucibles were found and the Late Bronze Age burnt mound site at Dungeer (00E0474).

6.4 Iron Age 500 BC-500 ADIn common with much of Ireland there is very little evidence for Iron Age activity in Co. Wexford. Hillforts and promontory forts have possible construction dates in the Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age and there are two hillforts and five promontory forts in the county (Moore 1996). The artefactual evidence for this period in Wexford includes two pins that are of probable Iron Age date and two pos-sible Iron Age stone heads recovered from Duncormick (Stout 1987, 29-30). Two of the sites excavated along the route of the Rathsillagh-Harristown road produced Iron Age radiocarbon dates, both were from Bricketstown and one was a small cremation cemetery (00E0623), the second was a small hearth (00E0624).

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6.5 Early Medieval 500 AD-1169 ADThe beginnings of Christianity are evident in the remains of seventeen early ecclesiastical sites in Co. Wexford (Moore 1996). One of the earliest excavated examples from Co. Wexford was at St. Vogues, at Carnsore, where a wooden church preceded a stone building (O’Kelly 1975). One of the closest known early church sites to the roadtake is located approximately 2 km to the south at the church of Poulmarl/Taghmon, the monastery founded by St. Munna in the seventh century. The list of abbots from this site continues to the end of the tenth century and there is a record of a Viking raid in 917 AD (Moore 1996, 160). By this time the Norse town of Weisford, later to become Wexford, was already established, having been established by the end of the ninth century (Colfer 1990-1991).Evidence for settlement in the county during the early medieval period comes from ringforts, typical monuments of the period. These were circular or subcircular enclosures made from earthen banks that surrounded areas roughly between 25 and 40 metres in diameter. Excavated examples have demon-strated that they generally surrounded single farmstead-type settlement sites. One hundred and fifty-three examples are known from the county (Moore 1996). Of these only two were located within close proximity to the area of the new Rathsillagh-Harristown road (at Haystown, c. 3 km to the north of the new road and at Cullenstown c. 2 km to the south). There are also numerous circular enclosure sites that probably represent ringforts; thirteen of them appear on the RMP Sheet 36 (covering the area of the new road-take) for Co. Wexford.

6.6 Later Medieval 1169 AD-1600 ADThe Anglo-Normans first landed in Ireland in Co. Wexford in 1169. The county was within their initial land-grab zone between AD 1169 and AD 1190 (Mitchell & Ryan 1997, 305) and was sub-infeudated in the early stages of Anglo-Norman activity in Ireland (Colfer 1987). Wexford county was one of the first twelve counties created by the English Kings in the 12th to 13th centuries, from the original Prov-inces and lesser Territories of the Irish Tuatha (Howarth 1911, 161). By the thirteenth century much of the area covered by the Rathsillagh-Harristown road-take was a frontier zone and the archaeological landscape of these areas is characterised by moated sites: there are ten known sites on RMP Sheet 36 for Co. Wexford, the area covered by the new road, and one moated site at Carrowreagh was found along the line of the new road. Moated sites were distributed at the peripheries of the colonial organi-sation centres and probably represent an attempt at secondary colonisation (O’Keeffe 2000, 73-75). There are almost 130 moated sites known in County Wexford (Moore 1996, 95). However, by the end of the fourteenth century, much of the Anglo-Norman settlement in Co. Wexford had retreated to a southeastern stronghold in the baronies of Forth and Bargy, a pattern that Colfer (1987) suggests was reminiscent of the “Pale of county Wexford”. Excavations of medieval sites in the county include the remains of a medieval house were excavated at Ballyanne (Moran 2000), with pottery indicative of oc-cupation in the 12th to 14th centuries, and excavations at Ferns, Hook Head, Newtown, Tintern, Tagh-mon, New Ross and Wexford town all produced medieval archaeological remains (Bennett 2004-5). Along the route of the Rathsillagh-Harristown road the moated site at Carrowreagh (excavated under licence no. 00E0476) was the largest medieval site excavated. A spread of medieval occupation material was also excavated at Bricketwtown (00E0476) and this was rich in the remains of medieval pottery.

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It is also possible that the limekilns at Bricketstown (00E0476) and Harristown Little (00E0417) were in use at the very end of the medieval period.

6.7 Post-Medieval (after 1600 AD)A few excavations of post-medieval archaeological sites have been carried out in Wexford county, in-cluding Brideswell Big, Duncannon Fort, and excavations in Wexford and Ennisorthy town (Bennett 2004-5). Some of the excavations from the Rathsillagh to Harristown road scheme were probably used during this time, in particular the limekilns at Bricketstown (00E0476, 00E0626) and Harristown Little (00E0417) were probably in use at this period. There is Jacobean house site in Dungeer, one of the townlands affected by the roadtake. References to the house/castle date to the early seventeenth century (Moore 1996).

7 Site Location and TopographyThis site was located at the top of a moderately west to east inclined hill and the surrounding land was used as grazing.

8 ResultsThe site comprised two small pits of similar form that were located in close proximity to each other (Fig. 5). There was evidence for oxidisation within the cuts of both pits, suggesting in situ burning or exposure to extreme heat. Both were filled with charcoal rich deposits with stone and slag inclusions. The similarities between the cuts and fills of both pits, and their proximity to each other, indicates that they were related.

The first pit (C.3) was circular in plan with a diameter of 0.27 m and a depth of 0.07 m (Plate 1). It contained one fill (C.1), a dark black silty clay with occasional small sub-angular stones, iron slag (177 g) and charcoal (Plate 2). Specialist analysis suggested that this was a smelting slag, with indications that it cooled slowly in the furnace (Appendix 3).

The second pit (C.4) was located just 0.12 m to the south of C.3. It was sub-circular in plan, measur-ing 0.20 m from north to south by 0.25m east to west, and it was 0.08 m in depth (Plate 1). It also contained only one fill (C.2), a dark black silty clay with many angular and sub-angular pebbles and stones, frequent charcoal flecks and 178 g of slag (Plate 2). The slag in this context also formed as a result of smelting (Appendix 3).

The presence of slag in both pits indicates that they were used for metalworking and they have been identified as bowl furnaces on the basis of specialist analysis (Appendix 3). Some above ground struc-tures would have been necessary to create a reducing atmosphere for this process and while there were no archaeological indications of above ground structures around these pits, it is possible that a clay dome or low wall was used. This would not have survived at a disturbed site, particularly as these fur-naces were so shallow (0.07-0.08 m deep) and were clearly truncated.

The main activity at the site was first the digging of the pits (and perhaps the construction of a dome

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or wall over the pit), and secondly the use of the features for roasting and smelting. It seems likely that these two activities occurred in quick succession as there is no evidence for repeated use of the pits, for cleaned out and scattered waste, or for any other structural remains.

The location of metalworking sites is crucial as they need to be close to resources and raw materials, such as clay for furnace lining, charcoal (i.e. plenty of wood) and, most importantly in the case of smelting, an ore source. A major prehistoric and early historic source of ore for ironworking was bog ore (limonite) which was probably easily accessible in Ireland, given the expanse of both blanket and raised bogs in the country, although the issue of ore supply from this source has not been studied in detail. The ore source at Dungeer appears to be from bog ore (Appendix 3).

This site is the only recorded evidence for bowl furnaces in Co. Wexford to date, based on a survey of the database of Irish excavations (www.excavations.ie) and in reference to more recently published summary excavations (Bennett 2004 and Bennett 2006).

9 ArtefactsThere were no artefacts recovered during excavation at this site.

10 Industrial ResiduesIndustrial residues from two samples were examined by Dr. Effy Photos-Jones and Dr. Lyn Wilson of Scottish Analytical Services for Art and Archaeology (Appendix 3). Their analysis concludes that these pits were used as bowl furnaces and that smelting occurred at the site. The raw material was probably bog ore and iron was the metal that was worked at the site, with no evidence for copper use.

11 ConclusionThe two cut features excavated at Dungeer under excavation licence no. 00E0475 were small pits that were used for metalworking. Both pits demonstrated evidence of oxidisation and had fills which contained slag. The analysis of industrial residues confirmed that these were bowl furnaces used for smelting ore. The only metal type worked at the site was iron, with bog ore almost certainly the main raw material.

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12 BibliographyBennett,I. (ed.) 2006. Excavations 2003. Bray, Wordwell.

Bennett,I. (ed.) 2004. Excavations 2002. Bray, Wordwell.

Bennett, I. 2004-5. ‘Archaeological Excavations in Co. Wexford’, Journal of the Wexford Historical Society 20, 184-196.

Colfer, B. 1987. ‘Anglo-Norman Settlement in County Wexford’, pp. 65-101 in Whelan, K. (ed.) Wexford History and Society. Interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish county. Dublin, Geography Publications.

Colfer, B. 1990-1991. ‘Medieval Wexford’, Journal of the Wexford Historical Society 13, 4-29.

Cotter, C. 1986. ‘MacMurroughs, Co. Wexford’, in Cotter, C. (ed.) Excavations 1985. Dublin, Irish Academic Publication for Organisation of Irish Archaeologists.

Green, S. W. and Zvelebil, M. 1990. “The Mesolithic colonisation and agricultural transition of south-east Ireland”, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 56, 57-88.

Howarth, O.J.R. 1911. A Geography of Ireland. Oxford Geographies, London

McCarthy, M. 2004. ‘Strandfield, Co. Wexford’, pp. 520-521 in Bennett, I. (ed.) Excavations 2002. Bray, Wordwell.

McLoughlin, C. 2004. ‘Kerlogue’, pp.517-518 in Bennet, I. (ed.) Excavations 2002. Bray, Wordwell.

Mitchell, F. & Ryan, M. 1997. Reading the Irish Landscape, Town House, Dublin

Moore, M.J. 1996. Archaeological Inventory of County Wexford, Government Publications, Dublin.

Moran, J. 2000 ‘Ballyanne, Co. Wexford’. in Bennett, I. (ed.) Excavations 1998. Bray, Wordwell. Mullins, C. 2003 Rathaspick in Bennett, I. (ed.) Excavations 2001. Bray, Wordwell.

O’Keeffe, T. 2000. Medieval Ireland, An Archaeology. Tempus Publishing, England.

O’Kelly, M.J. 1975. ‘Archaeological Survey and Excavation of St. Vogue’s Church, Enclosure and Other Monuments st Carnsore, Co. Wexford’. Unpublished excavation report for the Electricity Supply Board.

Purcell, J. 2004. ‘St. Vogue’s’, p.520 in Bennet, I. (ed.) Excavations 2002. Bray, Wordwell.

Purcell, A. 2002. ‘Courtlands East, Co. Wexford’, in Bennett, I. (ed.) Excavations 2000. Bray, Wordwell.

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Stout, G. 1987. ‘Wexford in Prehistory 5000 B.C. to 300 A.D.’, pp.1-39 in Whelan, K. (ed.) Wexford History and Society. Interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish county. Dublin, Geography Publications.

Websites

www.excavations.ie

www.nra.ie/Archaeology/LeafletandPosterSeries

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13 Figures

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Figure 5: Plan of the excavated area at Dungeer, Co. Wexford (00E0475) showing the two metalworking pits

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Plate 1: Post-excavation of two metalworking pits (cuts C.3 and C.4)

Plate 2: Pre-excavation of two metalworking pits (deposits C.1 and C.2)

14 Plates

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13 Appendices

13.1 Appendix 1 Context Register

Context No.

Dimensions Description

1 0.27 m N-S x 0.27 m E-W x 0.7 m depth.

Soft dark black silty clay with occasional small sub-angular stones, iron slag and charcoal. It is the fill of a pit (C.3) and was formed during some stage of metalworking.

2 0.28 m N-S x 0.25 m E-W x 0.08 m depth

Soft dark black silty clay containing fine, medium, and coarse angular and sub-angular pebbles and small angular and sub-angular stones. Frequent flecks, small and medium pieces of charcoal. Contained slag. This is the fill of a small pit (C.4) associated with metalworking.

3 0.27 m N-S x 0.27 m E-W x 0.07 m depth

Cut of small pit. Circular in plan with rounded corners. Grad-ual break of slope top and base. All sides have a gentle slope and are smooth in shape. The shape of the base is circular in plan and concave in profile. C 3 is filled by C.1. This context is the cut of a small pit associated with metalworking.

4 0.20 m N-S x 0.25m E-W x 0.08 m depth

Cut of small pit. This context is circular to sub-circular in plan with rounded corners. Gradual break of slope top and base. All sides have a gentle slope and are smooth in shape. The shape of the base is sub-circular in plan and concave in profile. C 4 is filled by context 2. This context is the cut of a pit (filled by C.2). As in the case of C 3, the cut itself is very shallow but from the fill, its inclusions and finds there is little doubt that both cuts were made solely for the purpose metal processing.

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13.2 Appendix 2 Stratigraphic MatrixAppendix 2: Stratigraphic Matrix

Topsoil

Natural

1 2

3 4

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13.3 Appendix 3 Industrial Residues

1

Q

SASA

A 2

45a

and

245b

O

ctob

er 2

006

-R

AF

AN

AL

YSI

S

SASA

A 2

45a:

Dun

geer

Indu

stri

al W

aste

Exa

min

atio

n &

Ana

lysi

s SA

SAA

245

b: B

rick

etst

own

Indu

stri

al W

aste

Exa

min

atio

n &

Ana

lysi

s

Intr

oduc

tion

SASA

A r

ecei

ved

four

sam

ples

of

slag

fro

m E

acht

ra A

rcha

eolo

gica

l Pr

ojec

ts f

or a

naly

tical

ass

essm

ent.

The

sam

ples

wer

e ex

cava

ted

from

Dun

geer

, Co.

W

exfo

rd (L

icen

ce N

o. 0

0E04

75) a

nd B

ricke

tsto

wn,

Co,

Wex

ford

– N

25 R

ealig

nmen

t (R

aths

illag

h-H

arris

tow

n) (L

icen

ce N

o. 0

0E04

76).

Thre

e of

thes

e fo

ur

wer

e ch

osen

for e

xam

inat

ion

(Tab

le 1

).

Tabl

e 1.

Indu

stria

l was

te s

ampl

es.

SASA

A N

o.

Con

text

Pi

t No.

Si

te

Site

Cod

e D

escr

iptio

n A

naly

sis

245.

0192

1

Dun

geer

, Co.

Wex

ford

00

E04

75

Sla

g S

EM

-ED

AX

24

5.02

4 n/

a B

ricke

tsto

wn,

Co.

Wex

ford

00

E04

76

Sla

g S

EM

-ED

AX

24

5.03

3 2

Dun

geer

, Co.

Wex

ford

00

E04

75

Sla

g S

EM

-ED

AX

Dun

geer

(Co.

Wex

ford

) Th

e si

te c

ompr

ised

two

smal

l met

alw

orki

ng p

its, l

ocat

ed c

lose

to e

ach

othe

r (Fi

gure

3 -

left)

. The

re w

as e

vide

nce

for o

xidi

satio

n w

ithin

the

cuts

of b

oth

pits

, su

gges

ting

in s

itu b

urni

ng o

r exp

osur

e to

ext

rem

e he

at. B

oth

wer

e fil

led

with

cha

rcoa

l ric

h de

posit

s w

ith s

tone

and

sla

g in

clus

ions

. The

sim

ilarit

ies

betw

een

the

cuts

and

the

fills

of b

oth

pits

, and

thei

r pro

xim

ity to

eac

h ot

her,

indi

cate

s th

at th

ey w

ere

rela

ted

and

it se

ems

likel

y th

ey s

erve

d a

sing

le fu

nctio

n (E

acht

ra

2006

). N

o da

tes h

ave

been

repo

rted

for t

his s

ite.

•Pi

t C3:

circ

ular

in p

lan.

Dia

met

er =

0.2

7m. D

epth

= 0

.07m

. One

fill

= da

rk b

lack

silty

cla

y w

ith o

ccas

iona

l sm

all s

ub-a

ngul

ar st

ones

, iro

n sl

ag (1

77g)

and

ch

arco

al.

•Pi

t C

4: 0

.12m

S o

f C

3. S

ub-c

ircul

ar in

pla

n. 0

.2m

x 0

.25m

dim

ensi

ons.

Dep

th =

0.0

8m. O

ne f

ill =

dar

k bl

ack

silty

cla

y w

ith m

any

angu

lar

and

sub-

angu

lar p

ebbl

e an

d st

one,

freq

uent

cha

rcoa

l fle

cks a

nd sl

ag (1

78g)

.

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00E0475 Dungeer, Co. Wexford ISSUE 4: Eachtra Journal - ISSN 2009-2237

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2

Bri

cket

stow

n (C

o. W

exfo

rd)

The

site

com

pris

ed a

kiln

, ditc

hes,

furr

ows,

hear

th, s

take

-hol

es a

nd a

wor

king

sur

face

. C92

was

a la

rge

laye

r of r

e-de

posi

ted

natu

ral,

cont

aini

ng n

umer

ous

potte

ry sh

erds

and

iron

slag

.It

form

ed a

surf

ace

of u

nkno

wn

func

tion

on w

hich

thre

e le

nses

of b

urnt

cla

y w

ere

depo

site

d (n

ot in

situ

). B

elow

the

surf

ace

was

a

char

coal

fill

ed p

it, s

eale

d w

ith a

thic

k fil

l of

oran

gey

red

clay

(he

arth

mat

eria

l). A

cha

rcoa

l spr

ead

lay

abov

e th

e su

rfac

e C

92.

A s

ucce

ssio

n of

bur

ning

(b

oth

in s

itu a

nd e

x si

tu) t

ook

plac

e on

site

, and

wor

king

sur

face

s w

ere

cons

truct

ed. P

otte

ry w

as id

entif

ied

as 1

2-14

th c

entu

ry a

nd C

-14

date

s fr

om th

e si

te

wer

e la

te m

edie

val (

Each

tra 2

006)

.

Sam

ple

Prep

arat

ion

and

Ana

lysi

s

Thre

e fr

agm

ents

of s

lag

wer

e ch

osen

, one

from

Bric

kets

tow

n a

nd tw

o fr

om D

unge

er, f

or S

EM-E

DA

X a

naly

sis;

they

wer

e m

ount

ed in

resi

n an

d gr

ound

and

po

lishe

d w

ith 6

mic

ron

and

3mic

ron

diam

ond

past

es. T

hey

wer

e su

bseq

uent

ly c

arbo

n-co

ated

for

SEM

-ED

AX

ana

lysi

s. Th

e SE

M f

acili

ty u

sed

is a

FEI

Q

uant

a 20

0F E

nviro

nmen

tal S

EM. R

esul

ts a

re n

orm

alis

ed (c

alib

rate

d to

100

%).

Qua

ntita

tive

SEM

-ED

AX

ana

lyse

s ar

e un

derta

ken

first

on

the

entir

e su

rfac

e of

the

polis

hed

bloc

k (a

rea

anal

yses

) at d

iffer

ent l

ocat

ions

with

in th

e sa

mpl

e, a

nd s

ubse

quen

tly o

n ea

ch o

f the

diff

eren

t min

eral

ogic

al p

hase

s ob

serv

ed (s

pot

anal

yses

). It

is im

porta

nt to

repo

rt bo

th a

rea

and

spot

ana

lyse

s, si

nce

it is

the

indi

vidu

al p

hase

s th

at c

an s

hed

light

into

the

cond

ition

s ap

plic

able

with

in th

e fu

rnac

e, th

e or

e us

ed, t

he ra

tes o

f coo

ling

of th

e sl

ag. A

ll SE

M im

ages

repr

oduc

ed h

ere

are

BS

(bac

ksca

ttere

d el

ectro

n) im

ages

to re

flect

sam

ple

com

posi

tion.

A

sec

ond

type

of i

mag

e re

ferr

ed to

as

‘Mix

ed,’

is a

com

pute

r ge

nera

ted

imag

e fo

rmed

by

over

layi

ng th

e se

cond

ary

emis

sion

imag

e w

ith th

e ba

cksc

atte

red

one.

It is

incl

uded

her

e on

ly a

s a m

eans

of e

nhan

cing

the

seco

ndar

y em

issi

on im

age.

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3

Res

ults

Tabl

e 2.

Ana

lyse

s. S

EM

-ED

AX

Dat

a fo

r sa

mpl

es S

ASA

A 2

45.0

1, .0

2 an

d .0

3. P

leas

e no

te th

at ir

on c

an o

ccur

in b

oth

the

Fe2+

and

the

Fe3+

sta

te. I

t is

repo

rted

here

as

Fe3+

and

repr

esen

ts to

tal i

ron

pres

ent.

Sam

ple

245.

01, C

4 Pi

t 1 D

unge

er

Sam

ple

Des

crip

tion

Na2

O

MgO

A

l2O

3 Si

O2

P2O

5 SO

3 C

l2O

K

2O

CaO

Ti

O2

MnO

Fe

2O3

Tota

l

245.

01ar

ea a

naly

sis

(mea

n)

0.16

0.

34

8.84

15

.21

0.81

0.

15

nd

0.30

0.

38

nd

5.51

68

.56

100

245.

01w

ustit

e 0.

23

0.24

0.

87

2.16

0.

79

0.32

nd

0.

15

nd

nd

2.73

92

.52

100

245.

01fa

yalit

e 0.

19

0.49

1.

24

27.7

0 0.

47

0.00

nd

0.

09

nd

nd

7.81

62

.01

100

245.

01he

rcyn

ite

0.16

0.

84

50.1

2 0.

67

0.20

0.

00

nd

0.16

nd

nd

2.

80

45.0

5 10

0

245.

01In

ters

titia

l gla

ss

0.11

0.

22

25.6

0 50

.45

0.23

0.

00

nd

18.4

6 nd

nd

0.

39

4.55

10

0

Sam

ple

245.

02 fr

om C

92 B

ricke

tsto

wn

Sam

ple

Des

crip

tion

Na2

O

MgO

A

l2O

3 Si

O2

P2O

5 SO

3 C

l2O

K

2O

CaO

Ti

O2

MnO

Fe

2O3

Tota

l

245.

02ar

ea a

naly

sis

(mea

n)

0.25

0.

64

5.39

23

.22

0.33

0.

43

nd

0.95

0.

77

nd

0.34

67

.70

100

245.

02fa

yalit

e 0.

14

1.17

0.

52

27.2

2 0.

11

0.23

nd

0.

15

0.36

nd

0.

42

69.6

8 10

0

245.

02in

ters

titia

l gla

ss, p

hase

1, N

a,C

a, K

-ric

h al

umin

o-si

licat

e 3.

16

0.00

19

.73

42.1

1 0.

66

0.25

nd

5.

83

7.78

nd

0.

10

20.3

8 10

0

245.

02In

ters

titia

l gla

ss, p

hase

2 K

-ric

h al

umin

o-si

licat

e 0.

86

0.07

25

.05

53.0

6 0.

19

0.16

0.

10

19.1

1 0.

08

nd

0.05

1.

27

100

245.

02iro

n ox

ide

‘ore

’ 0.

10

0.39

6.

61

9.47

0.

00

0.47

0.

30

0.19

0.

17

nd

0.57

81

.72

100

Sam

ple

245.

03 fr

om C

3, D

unge

erSa

mpl

e D

escr

iptio

n N

a2O

M

gO

Al2

O3

SiO

2 P2

O5

SO3

Cl2

O

K2O

C

aO

TiO

2 M

nO

Fe2O

3 To

tal

245.

03ar

ea a

naly

sis

0.56

0.

25

10.3

5 25

.40

0.54

0.

23

0.06

1.

29

0.45

0.

50

5.46

54

.92

100

245.

03fa

yalit

e

0.32

0.

61

0.31

26

.75

0.29

0.

27

0.15

0.

19

0.35

nd

8.

06

62.6

9 10

0

245.

03fin

e fa

yalit

e gr

owin

g w

ithin

gla

ss; i

t als

o ha

s M

n 0.

16

0.68

0.

95

25.9

3 0.

39

0.17

0.

11

0.11

0.

23

0.40

8.

28

62.6

0 10

0

245.

03he

rcyn

ite

0.00

0.

26

41.7

8 1.

70

0.19

0.

48

0.25

0.

22

0.20

1.

67

3.04

50

.20

100

245.

03In

ters

titia

l gla

ss, a

K-r

ich

alum

inos

ilica

te

3.05

0.

00

22.8

3 40

.26

3.02

0.

31

0.00

14

.98

1.42

0.

76

0.89

12

.47

100

245.

03‘o

re’ a

t the

beg

inni

ng o

f red

uctio

n to

iron

oxi

de a

nd fa

yalit

e 0.

30

0.18

6.

09

15.6

1 2.

00

1.21

0.

06

0.27

0.

16

0.14

1.

00

72.9

8 10

0

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4

Figu

re 1

. SE

M-E

DA

X im

ages

of s

ampl

es 2

45.0

1 an

d 24

5.03

(Dun

geer

).

SASA

A 2

45.0

1.3:

SEM

-BS

imag

e sh

owin

g fo

ur p

hase

s, m

ajor

ph

ase

is fa

yalit

e, m

inor

pha

ses

incl

ude

wus

tite,

her

cyni

te a

nd

inte

rstit

ial g

lass

.

SASA

A 2

45.0

1.4:

SEM

-BS

imag

e sh

owin

g th

e fo

ur p

hase

s at

hi

gher

mag

nific

atio

n th

an th

e ph

otog

raph

to th

e le

ft; h

ercy

nite

ap

pear

s to

ex-

solv

e ou

t of f

ayal

ite, i

n an

atte

mpt

to a

ccom

mod

ate

the

exce

ss a

lum

ina

pres

ent i

n th

e or

e.

SASA

A 2

45.0

3.3:

SEM

-BS

imag

e sh

owin

g ba

nds

of s

olid

ifica

tion

on

the

surf

ace

of th

e sl

ag fr

agm

ent.

SASA

A 2

45.0

3.4:

SEM

-BS

imag

e sh

owin

g a

clos

e-up

of t

he tw

o zo

nes

of s

olid

ifica

tion;

the

inte

rior h

as b

een

subj

ecte

d to

fast

co

olin

g, w

hile

the

ext

erio

r sho

ws

wel

l gro

wn

faya

lite

with

he

rcyn

ite g

row

ing

in b

etw

een.

SASA

A 2

45.0

3.2:

SEM

-BS

imag

e sh

owin

g w

ell f

orm

ed n

eedl

es o

f fa

yalit

e w

ith in

ters

titia

l gla

ss a

nd a

ngul

ar h

ercy

nite

. SA

SAA

245

.03.

1: S

EM-B

S im

age

show

ing

a cl

ose

up o

f ang

ular

he

rcyn

ite a

mid

st th

e fa

yalit

e an

d th

e in

ters

titia

l gla

ss (b

lack

). Th

e pi

tting

on

the

surf

ace

is th

e re

sult

of w

eath

erin

g du

ring

buria

l.

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00E0475 Dungeer, Co. Wexford ISSUE 4: Eachtra Journal - ISSN 2009-2237

Permalink: http://eachtra.ie/index.php/journal/e0475-dungeer-co-wexford/

5

Figu

re 2

. SE

M-E

DA

X im

ages

of s

ampl

es 2

45.0

2 (B

ricke

tsto

wn)

.

SASA

A 2

45.0

2.4:

SEM

-BS

imag

e sh

owin

g pa

rtia

lly re

duce

d or

e am

idst

the

faya

lite

and

inte

rstit

ial g

lass

; the

ana

lysi

s sh

owed

iron

si

lica

and

alum

ina

with

som

e ph

osph

orus

.

SASA

A 2

45.0

2.5:

SEM

-BS

imag

e sh

owin

g an

othe

r are

a hi

ghlig

htin

g th

e re

duct

ion

proc

ess;

it s

houl

d be

em

phas

ised

that

so

me

of th

e ar

eas

whi

ch a

ppea

r ‘re

duce

d’ m

ight

be

the

resu

lt of

co

mbi

ned

redu

ctio

n an

d w

eath

erin

g.

SASA

A 2

45.0

2.2:

SEM

-BS

imag

e sh

owin

g de

ndrit

es o

f wus

tite

in th

e co

urse

of f

orm

atio

n. A

naly

sis

of in

divi

dual

den

drite

s sh

ow a

lum

ina

and

silic

a as

wel

l as

iron

refle

ctin

g th

e or

igin

al o

re.

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6

Dis

cuss

ion

On

slag

min

eral

ogy:

Dun

geer

Th

e tw

o sa

mpl

es o

f sl

ag a

naly

sed

(SA

SAA

245

.01

and

SASA

A 2

45.0

3) a

re s

imila

r in

typ

olog

y (a

mor

phou

s, bl

ack,

den

se a

nd p

orou

s) b

ut n

ot i

n

min

eral

ogy.

With

ref

eren

ce to

SA

SAA

245

.03,

fou

r ph

ases

are

evi

dent

: the

pre

dom

inan

t pha

se is

fay

alite

, an

iron

silic

ate,

(2F

eO.S

iO2)

; min

or p

hase

s ar

e he

rcyn

ite, (

Al 2O

3.FeO

), an

alu

min

ium

iron

oxi

de, w

ustit

e, a

n iro

n ox

ide

(FeO

) and

inte

rstit

ial g

lass

. Som

e tra

ces

of m

etal

lic ir

on a

re a

lso

evid

ent.

The

co-

exis

tenc

e of

the

four

pha

ses

poin

ts to

the

slag

s be

ing

of th

e sm

eltin

g ty

pe; h

ercy

nite

pro

babl

y de

rives

eith

er fr

om th

e or

e or

the

linin

g of

the

furn

ace,

or a

co

mbi

natio

n of

bot

h. T

he s

lags

coo

led

slow

ly w

ithin

the

furn

ace,

(th

ey w

ere

not t

appe

d), a

s su

gges

ted

by th

e w

ell-f

orm

ed f

ayal

ite; t

hey

may

hav

e be

en

rem

oved

in th

e pr

oces

s of b

loom

ext

ract

ion

and

forg

ing

and

perh

aps –

giv

en th

e ab

senc

e of

slag

scat

ter o

r ind

eed

any

othe

r fea

ture

in th

e im

med

iate

vic

inity

- th

ey w

ere

thro

wn

back

in it

afte

r the

blo

om w

as re

mov

ed.

In r

efer

ence

to

SASA

A 2

45.0

1, f

our

phas

es a

re e

vide

nt:

the

pred

omin

ant

phas

e is

fay

alite

, an

iro

n si

licat

e, (

2FeO

.SiO

2);

min

or p

hase

s ar

e he

rcyn

ite,

(Al 2O

3.FeO

), an

alu

min

ium

iron

oxi

de; w

ustit

e, a

n iro

n ox

ide

(FeO

) and

inte

rstit

ial g

lass

. Som

e tra

ces

of m

etal

lic ir

on a

re a

lso

evid

ent.

The

co-e

xist

ence

of

the

four

pha

ses p

oint

s to

the

slag

bei

ng o

f the

smel

ting

type

as d

escr

ibed

in th

e ot

her D

unge

er (S

ASA

A 2

45.0

3) e

xam

ple

abov

e.

The

ore

used

was

alm

ost c

erta

inly

of t

he b

og o

re v

arie

ty, w

here

iron

exi

sts

as a

non

-cry

stal

line

oxy-

hydr

oxid

e (H

all a

nd P

hoto

s-Jo

nes

1998

). M

anga

nese

w

ould

hav

e be

en a

dded

in th

e fo

rm o

f m

anga

nese

oxi

de n

odul

es, a

s flu

x to

mak

e th

e sl

ag f

ree

runn

ing.

Man

gane

se o

xide

s no

dule

s ha

ve b

een

foun

d in

as

soci

atio

n w

ith m

etal

wor

king

site

s (P

hoto

s-Jo

nes

2006

). B

og ir

on o

re is

elu

sive

(H

all a

nd P

hoto

s-Jo

nes

1998

), pr

imar

ily o

n ac

coun

t of t

he fa

ct th

at it

is

rege

nera

tive;

in o

ther

wor

ds it

rep

rodu

ces

itsel

f (p

roba

bly

‘qui

etly

’ ev

en to

day)

at d

iffer

ent l

ocat

ions

, ove

r a

num

ber

of y

ears

. We

are

curr

ently

ana

lysi

ng

som

e of

thes

e “m

oder

n” so

urce

s at a

site

pre

sent

ly u

nder

inve

stig

atio

n.

The

sim

ilarit

ies

in m

iner

alog

y be

twee

n th

e tw

o fr

agm

ents

of s

lag

from

Dun

geer

sug

gest

sm

eltin

g sl

ags.

They

hav

e be

en re

cove

red

from

two

diff

eren

t pits

; it

does

not

, how

ever

, nec

essa

rily

follo

w th

at b

oth

pits

wer

e sm

eltin

g pi

ts (s

ee se

ctio

n be

low

).

On

furn

ace

desc

ript

ion:

Dun

geer

Pits

C3

and

C4

wer

e in

deed

bow

l fur

nace

s us

ed in

the

mak

ing

of ir

on. T

here

is n

o ev

iden

ce o

f co

pper

mel

ting

or s

mel

ting

with

in th

e sa

mpl

es e

xam

ined

. Ea

ch fu

rnac

e co

ntai

ns o

nly

a si

ngle

fill.

The

pre

senc

e of

sla

g in

bot

h fu

rnac

es a

nd th

e ob

serv

ed h

eatin

g of

the

pit w

alls

indi

cate

that

bot

h pi

ts w

ere

used

for

met

alw

orki

ng. T

wo-

bow

l (s

ee F

igur

e 3,

mid

dle)

or

even

thr

ee-b

owl

furn

ace

clus

ters

are

beg

inni

ng t

o be

inc

reas

ingl

y ev

iden

t in

Ire

land

lik

e th

e on

e at

D

errin

salla

gh 4

, Co

Laoi

s, ex

cava

ted

by A

CS

Ltd

earli

er th

is y

ear,

(A-M

Len

non,

per

s co

mm

.). M

agne

tic s

usce

ptib

ility

mea

sure

men

ts o

f one

suc

h tw

o-pi

t bo

wl f

urna

ce w

ithin

this

site

sho

wed

that

the

tem

pera

ture

s re

ache

d w

ithin

wer

e di

ffer

ent (

Wils

on 2

006)

; it f

ollo

ws

that

the

func

tion

of th

e tw

o bo

wls

was

di

ffer

ent.

Thi

s m

ay o

r may

hav

e no

t bee

n th

e ca

se a

t Dun

geer

. We

sugg

est t

hat i

t is

diff

icul

t to

conc

lude

whe

ther

two

bow

ls s

ituat

ed n

ext t

o ea

ch o

ther

may

ha

ve b

een

part

of a

clu

ster

, eac

h de

dica

ted

to a

spec

ific

func

tion

or w

heth

er th

ey re

pres

ent t

wo

diff

eren

t tria

ls w

ithou

t the

use

of a

ncill

ary

scie

ntifi

c te

stin

g.

As

bow

l fur

nace

s, th

e D

unge

er o

nes

surv

ive

to a

n ex

cept

iona

lly s

hallo

w d

epth

(7-

8cm

). N

orm

ally

bow

l fur

nace

s w

ould

be

expe

cted

to

have

a d

epth

of

c.30

cm b

elow

the

area

whe

re th

e tu

yere

wou

ld h

ave

been

pos

ition

ed. F

or e

xam

ple,

the

furn

ace

at A

R29

(Fi

gure

3 r

ight

) su

rviv

ed to

a d

epth

that

ref

lect

s cl

osel

y th

e or

igin

al o

ne (t

he u

pper

wid

th o

f the

furn

ace

was

c.5

0cm

). Th

e sm

all a

mou

nt o

f sla

g an

d ch

arco

al re

cove

red

from

the

Dun

geer

furn

aces

sug

gest

s

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00E0475 Dungeer, Co. Wexford ISSUE 4: Eachtra Journal - ISSN 2009-2237

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7

dem

oliti

on/tr

unca

tion

eith

er b

y th

e sm

ith h

imse

lf or

as

part

of a

late

r ev

ent.

Whi

le th

ere

wer

e no

arc

haeo

logi

cal i

ndic

atio

ns o

f ab

ove

grou

nd s

truct

ures

ar

ound

thes

e pi

ts, i

t is p

ossi

ble

that

a lo

w c

lay

wal

l (ra

ther

than

a d

ome)

was

use

d to

con

tain

the

char

coal

and

to ‘s

ecur

e’ th

e po

sitio

ning

of t

he tu

yere

.

On

slag

min

eral

ogy:

Bri

cket

stow

n W

ith r

efer

ence

to S

ASA

A 2

45.0

2 tw

o m

ain

phas

es a

re o

bvio

us, f

ayal

ite a

nd in

ters

titia

l gla

ss; w

ustit

e is

sca

rce

and

herc

ynite

is a

bsen

t. Th

e ph

ases

that

ap

pear

as

wus

tite

show

n in

the

SEM

imag

es o

f Fig

ure

2, w

e su

gges

t are

wus

tite

‘in th

e m

akin

g’ i.

e. in

the

proc

ess

of fo

rmat

ion.

We

had

orig

inal

ly a

ssum

ed

that

this

was

wus

tite

whi

ch h

ad u

nder

gone

sev

ere

wea

ther

ing;

how

ever

clo

ser S

EM-E

DA

X a

naly

sis

show

ed th

at th

e ‘w

ustit

e in

the

mak

ing’

are

as c

onta

in a

co

nsid

erab

le a

mou

nt o

f sili

ca a

nd a

lum

ina

whi

ch m

ust r

efle

ct th

e or

igin

al o

re. I

t is

sugg

este

d th

at th

is s

lag

form

ed a

s pa

rt of

the

roas

ting

- mor

e ac

cura

tely

dr

ying

/con

solid

atin

g - o

f the

alu

min

a-ric

h fe

rrug

inou

s m

ater

ials

that

form

ed th

e ra

w m

ater

ial f

or th

is s

mel

t. Th

e or

e w

ould

hav

e co

ntai

ned

amor

phou

s iro

n ox

ide,

goe

thite

.

The

slag

is a

lso

devo

id o

f m

anga

nese

. Giv

en th

at o

nly

one

sam

ple

was

ava

ilabl

e fo

r ex

amin

atio

n fr

om th

e ab

ove

site

, it i

s no

t pos

sibl

e to

asc

erta

in h

ow

met

alw

orki

ng p

ract

ices

at B

ricke

tow

n w

ould

hav

e di

ffer

ed fr

om th

ose

at D

unge

er. T

here

is n

o re

porte

d as

soci

ated

furn

ace

feat

ure

with

this

sam

ple

(Eac

htra

20

06).

Figu

re 3

. Lef

t: P

its C

3 an

d C

4 at

Dun

geer

, Co.

Wex

ford

(Eac

htra

200

6). C

ompa

re w

ith (c

entre

) dou

ble

furn

ace

(C5)

at D

errin

salla

gh 4

, Co.

Lao

is (W

ilson

200

6) a

nd (r

ight

) ty

pica

l fur

nace

fills

in F

eatu

re 5

, AR

29,

Tra

ntst

own

(N8

Gla

nmire

-Wat

ergr

assh

ill R

oad

Sch

eme)

(She

rlock

200

1).

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8

Futu

re w

ork

Alth

ough

sla

g an

alys

is fr

om w

ithin

a fu

rnac

e ca

n in

prin

cipl

e id

entif

y th

e na

ture

of t

he a

ctiv

ities

with

in, i

t mer

ely

‘scr

atch

es’ t

he p

rove

rbia

l ‘su

rfac

e’; s

lag

anal

ysis

can

onl

y ta

ke th

e ar

chae

olog

ical

evi

denc

e so

far –

ana

lysi

s of

the

asso

ciat

ed s

oils

, be

they

the

silts

/cla

ys, c

an s

hed

light

into

the

raw

mat

eria

ls u

sed.

In

Dun

geer

, bot

h pi

ts c

onta

ined

‘dar

k bl

ack

silty

cla

y w

ith m

any

angu

lar

and

sub-

angu

lar

pebb

le a

nd s

tone

s’.A

re th

ese

silty

cla

ys m

erel

y po

st d

epos

ition

al

or d

o th

ey c

onta

in in

form

atio

n th

at m

ight

pro

ve v

ital t

o th

e in

terp

reta

tion

of th

e w

orki

ngs w

ithin

the

furn

ace

and

by e

xten

sion

pra

ctic

es lo

st?

It is

unf

ortu

nate

th

at m

etal

lurg

ical

was

te a

naly

sis

tradi

tiona

lly fo

cuse

s on

sla

g al

one.

It is

sug

gest

ed th

at s

oil m

icro

mor

phol

ogy

take

s pl

ace

(sam

plin

g us

ing

a K

ubie

na ti

n),

next

tim

e a

sim

ilar f

eatu

re is

exc

avat

ed. H

avin

g sa

id th

at, i

t is

ackn

owle

dged

that

the

shal

low

ness

of t

he p

its C

3 an

d C

4 at

Dun

geer

poi

nts

to c

onsi

dera

ble

dist

urba

nce,

rend

erin

g th

e re

sults

of a

ny d

etai

led

inve

stig

atio

n ra

ther

unr

elia

ble.

Plea

se n

ote:

pho

togr

aphs

and

dra

win

gs o

rigi

natin

g fr

om s

ourc

es o

ther

tha

n SA

SAA

are

not

to

be r

epro

duce

d in

any

for

m w

ithou

t th

e w

ritte

n

perm

issi

on o

f SA

SAA

.

E. P

hoto

s-Jo

nes

SASA

AG

lasg

ow, O

ctob

er 2

006

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00E0475 Dungeer, Co. Wexford ISSUE 4: Eachtra Journal - ISSN 2009-2237

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9

Ack

now

ledg

emen

ts

SASA

A w

ould

like

to a

ckno

wle

dge

the

assi

stan

ce o

f the

follo

win

g pe

ople

in p

repa

ratio

n of

this

repo

rt:

•G

ert P

eter

sen

(SA

SAA

). •

Pete

r Chu

ng (D

ept o

f Ear

th S

cien

ces,

Uni

vers

ity o

f Gla

sgow

).

Ref

eren

ces

Each

tra A

rcha

eolo

gica

l Pro

ject

s. 20

06. B

ackg

roun

d in

form

atio

n on

Dun

geer

and

Bri

cket

stow

n, C

o. W

exfo

rd. E

acht

ra, u

npub

lishe

d in

form

atio

n.

Sher

lock

R. 2

001.

N8

Gla

nmir

e –

Wat

ergr

assh

ill R

oad

Sche

me:

Arc

haeo

logi

cal E

xcav

atio

n at

Kill

ydon

ogho

e, B

allin

vinn

y N

orth

& T

rant

stow

n, C

o C

ork,

Si

te N

umbe

rs A

R 3,

AR

4, A

R 5,

AR

6, A

R 10

, AR

11, A

R 12

, AR

13, A

R 26

& A

R 29

, She

ila L

ane

& A

ssoc

iate

s C

onsu

ltant

Arc

haeo

logi

sts’

Inte

rim R

epor

t: D

ecem

ber 2

001,

Lic

ence

Num

ber 0

1E05

01.

Phot

os-J

ones

E. 2

006.

Step

asid

e, K

ilgob

bin:

Indu

stri

al W

aste

Exa

min

atio

n &

Ana

lysi

s. SA

SAA

Repo

rt 2

27.

Wils

on L

. 200

6. D

erri

nsal

lagh

4, C

o. L

aois

, Eir

e (S

ite L

icen

ce 0

5E21

80):

In-S

itu M

agne

tic S

usce

ptib

ility

Dat

a C

olle

ctio

n: A

Pre

limin

ary

Repo

rt.S

ASAA

Re

port

204

.1.

7 B

elg

rave T

err

ace

| G

lasg

ow

| G

12

8JD

| S

cotl

an

d |

UK

+4

4(0

)14

1 3

37

26

23

| e

nq

uir

ies@

sasa

a.c

o.u

k |

ww

w.s

asa

a.c

o.u

k