Mesolithic Excavations at Derragh Townland
Out of the Lough Kinale module grew the cameo project focussed on the Mesolithic period in the same area. The Lough Kinale excavation is focused on the use of a lake-side site in the Mesolithic. The site was chosen because of the spreads of lithics found there in the late 60’s. The excavations on a site that may be a platform crannog continued until 2006. The evidence at this point, however, supports the interpretation of the site as a small man-made island. It measures some 18 m in diameter and consists of a multitude of layers of stone, brushwood, peat, charcoal and hazelnuts. In the latest phases, the site had a stone-floor from which we have retrieved to date some 12,000 artefacts (dechet or debitage included). The edges had a brushwood and timber cladding and a long vertical post was found sunk deep down in the lake-sediments
This piece of wood which dates to the latest phases of the Late Mesolithic may hold the answer to an intriguing and long unsolved question – are there any cutmarks that could determine if polished stone axes were used at this time? The Kinale collection of lithics contains a large number of polished stone axes, much more so than other Mesolithic sites.
At lower levels the edges of the site consisted of composed brushwood and timbers that seemed to have been pegged down. A very fine-tuned stratigraphy of ash-spreads and hearths show that fires on numerous occasions were burning on this little island and that it was returned to many times.
A stake-structure that may be the remains of a hut or a wind-shed was revealed in 2004. What is extraordinary with this site is both its preservation and the structural remains as well as its possible contribution to the discussion on the elusive Mesolithic platform crannogs.
The presence of animal bones at the edges of this site is outstanding (Fig. 4). Margaret McCarthy analysed the animal bones, while Christina Fredengren, Claire Nolan and Peter Woodman analysed the lithic material.
Wood Assemblage
Over 5000 pieces of wood have been sampled from Kinale over 3 years of excavation, including many examples of worked ends. Due to the excellent preservation properties of peat, organic material such as wood survives particularly well. The main body of the wood assemblage consists of brushwood layers concentrated to the western edge of the site. These layers of wood were separated by layers of peat, and also included twigs, bark pieces and occasional roundwoods. In addition to these layers, there are also a number of wooden stake alignments which occur to the eastern half of the excavated area. A number of these stakes also display signs of wood working.
During excavation, each piece of wood was given its own sample number and its location marked on a plan before being lifted. The wood was then wrapped and stored in airtight containers. Analysis of this sizeable assemblage is continuing in post-excavation at present. A complete catalogue of pieces is being compiled, while dating and species analysis will also be carried out where applicable. Evidence of woodworking, for example toolmarks, is also being examined and recorded. As Late Mesolithic dates have been obtained for the site, wood from Kinale may provide exciting new evidence of woodworking techniques from this period.
Interim reports on the excavations at Kinale have appeared in Archaeology Ireland and in The Discovery Programme Annual Report Series. Full publication will be in a future Discovery Programme monograph, work on which is now (March 2009) well-advanced.