Technical report Analysis of plant remains from Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork (E2426) By Penny Johnston August 2009 Cite as: Johnston, P. (2009). Analysis of plant remains from Gortnahown 2, Co.Cork (E2426). Technical report. Further information: Kiely, J. and O'Donoghoe, J. (2011). Archaeological Excavation Rport E2426 Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork Prehistoric Activity and Early Medieval Settlement Site with Iron Working Eachtra Journal, 10. Retrieved from http://eachtra.ie/new_site/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/gortnahown2-journal.pdf Funding information: This work was carried out as part of pre-development mitigation work associated with the construction of the M8 road, Fermoy to Mitchelstown section. Excavation work was carried out by Eachtra Archaeological Projects, commissioned by Cork County Council and funded by the National Roads Authority. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en_us.
Appendix 8 Plant Remains By Penny Johnston Introduction This report details the results of analysis of charred plant material from an early medieval settlement and meetalworking site excavated at Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork (E2426). Cereals were moderately distributed in the samples from this site, although generally only recovered in small quantities. The cereal types included oats, barley and a small quantity of wheat. Methodology The samples were collected on site as bulk soil. They were processed using a machine assisted flotation method (see Pearsall 2000 for details) and the floated material was collected in a stack of sieve meshes (smallest size 250 microns). After air drying the collected floated material or flots, were stored in sealed plastic bags. The samples were scanned using a low powered binocular microscope (magnification x10 x40). The results of scanning are presented in Table 1 at the end of this report. Samples with plant remains were selected for further analysis and the results of identification are presented in Table 2 at the end of this report. Results A total of 204 samples from Gortnahown 2 were scanned (Table 1). Of these, 35 contained charred seeds (Table 2). In general, the amounts of seeds found were small, including various types of cereal grains and weed seeds (mostly identified as arable weeds). The cereal grains were primarily oats (89% of the entire identifiable cereal assemblage), followed by barley (10%) and wheat (1%).
Percentage cereal composition Barley 10% Wheat 1% Oat 89% Only one of the samples from this site contained more than 50 seeds: C.1253 (S.618). As this sample was much richer than all the others in taken from the site, it biased the overall percentage diagram (Fig. 1). This sample appears to be from post medieval features at the site and therefore post dates many of the other samples. The remaining archaeobotanical samples from the site were characterised by very small cereal assemblages, with most samples containing just single grains (Fig. 2).
6 5 4 3 2 1 0 25 66 74 175 504 507 565 590 714 715 727 763 781 1073 1274 1287 1288 1300 1320 Contexts Oat Barley Wheat Discussion Comparative assemblages from early medieval sites such as ringforts and cashels frequently indicate that oat was a very common cereal type. For example, oat comprised 57% of the cereal assemblage at Mackney and 60% of the cereal assemblage at Loughbown 1, both in Co. Galway (Dillon et al. 2007, 28 29). It also made up a significant portion of ringforts and cashels analysed from Lisleagh I and II and Lisnagun in Co. Cork and at Ballyegan and Loher, Co. Kerry (Monk et al. 1998, 69 70). While oat was overwhelmingly dominant in the entire assemblage (Fig. 1), this was strongly biased by the rich assemblage from a post medieval feature (C.1253). The remaining samples contain very small quantities of cereal grains and amongst these, oat and barley both make up a large proportion of the assemblage (53% oat grains, 44% barley grains and the remaining 3% identified as wheat). Both oat and barley were common in samples from ringforts and cashels in the south west of Ireland (Monk et al. 1998, 69 70). Assemblages from similar sites in Galway have produced assemblages that had more wheat and oat than barley (Dillon et al. 2007, 28 29). The differences in the retrieval patterns from the southwest and the west may indicate regional variations and preferences in the crops grown in these areas, although there is also a possibility that much of the wheat from the eastern ringforts was from later samples.
There is one assemblage from the N8 Fermoy to Mitchelstown route that may be partly contemporary with the material from Gortnahown 2; that is the material from Ballynacarriga 2, which is interpreted as an early medieval enclosure. The assemlbage from Ballynacarriga 2 included 70% oat, 25% wheat, 5% barley and a tiny quantity of rye. The assemblages from Gortnahown 2 and Ballynacarriga 2 are therefore not particularly similar in terms of cereal composition. References Dillon, M., Johnston, P. and Tierney, M. 2007 Reading the ashes; charred plant material from two ringforts in County Galway, Seanda 2, 27 29. Johnston, P., O Donnell, L. and Margaret Gowen and Co. Ltd. 2008 Appendix V Analysis of the charred plant remains and charcoal, pp. 138 148 in Stout, G. and Stout, M. Excavation of an Early Medieval Secular Cemetery ay Knowth Site M, County Meath. Dublin, Wordwell. Monk, M. 2000 Seeds and soils of discontent; an environmental archaeolgoical contribution to the nature of the Early Neolithic, pp. 67 87 in Desmond, A., Johnson, G., McCarthy, M., Sheehan, J. and Shee Twohig, E. New Agendas in Irish Prehistory: Papers in commemoration of Liz Anderson. Bray, Wordwell. Monk, M.A., Tierney, J. and Hannon, M. 1998 Archaeobotanical studies and early medieval Munster, pp. 65 75 in Monk, M.A. and Sheehan, J. (eds) Early Medieval Munster. Archaeology, history and society. Cork, Cork University Press. Pearsall, D. 2000 Paleoethnobotany: a Handbook of Procedures. New York, Academic Press. Stace, C.A. 1997 (2 nd edition) New Flora in the British Isles. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Table 1: Scanned samples from Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork (E2426) Sample Context Charcoal Seeds % scanned 36 3 H Absent 100 42 506 L Absent 100 72 13 L Absent 100 74 526 L Absent 100 76 521 M Absent 100 77 18 H L 100 78 523 L Absent 100 80 535 H Absent 100 82 558 L L 100 88 534 L Absent 100 92 541 L Absent 100 99 27 M L 100 102 553 L Absent 100 105 25 L L 100 116 549 H Absent 100 127 47 H Absent 100 128 504 H M 100 133 562 L Absent 100 136 565 M L 100 146 537 H Absent 100 148 536 M Absent 100 153 58 H Absent 100 173? M Absent 100 175 576 L Absent 100 176 60 L Absent 100 178 577 L Absent 100 186 63 L Absent 100 190 585 L Absent 100 192 66 L L 100 217 89 M Absent 100
Table 1: Scanned samples from Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork (E2426) continued Sample Context Charcoal Seeds % scanned 222 74 H L 100 228 606 L Absent 100 229 96 L Absent 100 230 75 M L 100 233 610 H Absent 100 237 76 M Absent 100 261 525 L Absent 100 264 616 L Absent 100 265 627 L L 100 267? H Absent 100 268 628 M Absent 100 269 626 H Absent 100 278 119 L Absent 100 297 130 M L 100 300 590 L L 100 301 142 L Absent 100 304 144 L Absent 100 308 646 L Absent 100 312 1320 L L 100 314 653 L Absent 100 315 143 L Absent 100 317 151 L Absent 100 318 152 M Absent 100 327 660 L Absent 100 331 591 L Absent 100 335 639 L Absent 100 336? H Absent 100 340 664 L Absent 100 343 158 L Absent 100 345 502 H Absent 100 348 675 L Absent 100 353 501 M L 100 355 676 L Absent 100 356 679 L Absent 100
Table 1: Scanned samples from Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork (E2426) continued Sample Context Charcoal Seeds % scanned 363 95 L Absent 100 369 685 L Absent 100 373 175 L L 100 380 691 L Absent 100 384 692 M Absent 100 388 187 L Absent 100 391? M L 100 392 696 H Absent 100 394 693 H Absent 100 396? L Absent 100 405 588 L Absent 100 408? L Absent 100 411 117 M Absent 100 423 717 L Absent 100 426 710 L Absent 100 427 507 H L 100 433 713 M Absent 100 434 226 L Absent 100 435? H L 100 435? H Absent 100 438 718 L Absent 100 442 720 L Absent 100 445 721 L Absent 100 447 227 H Absent 100
Table 1: Scanned samples from Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork (E2426) continued Sample Context Charcoal Seeds % scanned 448 715 L L 100 450 519 L Absent 100 452? L Absent 100 454 727 L L 100 457 729 L Absent 100 458 731 L Absent 100 459 737 L Absent 100 461 619 L Absent 100 476 157 H Absent 100 479 739 L Absent 100 483 733 H Absent 100 485 748 L Absent 100 488 727 H Absent 100 490 232 H Absent 100 492 755 L Absent 100 493 755 M Absent 100 494 747 L Absent 100 495 746 H L 100 496 235 Absent Absent 100 497 756 L Absent 100 498 237 L Absent 100 511 245 L Absent 100 512 145 H Absent 100 514 772 M Absent 100 516 774 L Absent 100
Table 1: Scanned samples from Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork (E2426) continued Sample Context Charcoal Seeds % scanned 517 775 H Absent 100 518 745 H Absent 100 519 745 H Absent 100 525 763 H L 100 527 782 H Absent 100 528 780 H Absent 100 529 781 L L 100 530 782 H Absent 100 531 784 M Absent 100 532? L Absent 100 533 734 M Absent 100 535 779 H Absent 100 537 785 M L 100 538 786 H Absent 100 539 789 H Absent 100 563 1000 L Absent 100 567 1007 H L 100 572 1008 L Absent 100 575 1200 H Absent 100 576 1202 L Absent 100 578 1205 L Absent 100 582 1207 M Absent 100 583 1208 M Absent 100 587 1010 L Absent 100 588 790 L Absent 100 589 791 L Absent 100 590 794 L Absent 100 591 270 L Absent 100 596 1016 L Absent 100
Table 1: Scanned samples from Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork (E2426) continued Sample Context Charcoal Seeds % scanned 598 1018 H L 100 599 271 L Absent 100 600 272 L Absent 100 610 1020 L Absent 100 611 1026 M Absent 100 612 1028 M L 100 613 1027 H Absent 100 615 1032 L Absent 100 616 1073 M L 100 618 1253 H H 100 623? L Absent 100 624 1286 L Absent 100 628 1035 L Absent 100 629 1042 L Absent 100 630 1288 L L 100 631 1263 L Absent 100 633? L Absent 100 634 1265 L Absent 100 635 1258 L Absent 100 636? L Absent 100 637 1287 Absent L 100 637 1372 L L 100 638 1274 L L 100 639 1304 L Absent 100 640? L Absent 100 641 1257 L Absent 100 642 1262 L L 100 643? L L 100 644 1302 L Absent 100 645? L Absent 100 646 1045 L Absent 100
Table 2: Identified plant remains from Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork (E2426) Context 18 25 27 66 74 75 130 175 501 504 507 558 565 590 627 686 714 715 Sample 77 105 99 192 222 230 297 373 353 128 427 82 136 300 265 391 435 448 Indeterminate seeds from the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) Hazelnut shell fragments (Corylus avellana L.) Indeterminate seeds from the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae) Corn Spurrey (Spergula arvensis L.) Balck bindweed (Fallopia convolvulus L. Á Löve) Probable Sheep's sorrel (Rumex cf acetosella L.) 1 1 1 1 1 1 Indeterminate seeds from the Knotgrass family (Polygonaceae) 1 1 Indeterminate seeds from the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) Indeterminate seeds from the Legume family (Fabaceae) Plantain (Plantago L. species) Probable Corn Marigold (Chrysanthem um cf segetum L.) Nipplewort (Lapsana communiz) Indeterminate seeds from the daisy family (Asteraceae) Indeterminate seeds from the sedge family (Cyperaceae) Oat grains (Avena L. species) Possible oat grains (cf Avena species) Barley grains (Hordeum vulgare L.) Possible barley grains (cf Hordeum vulgare) Oat/Barley grains (Avena/Hordeum) Free threshing wheat (Triticum aestivum L./turgidum Desf./durum L.) Wheat grains (Triticum L. species) 1 3 1 3 1 2 5 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 Indeterminate cereal grains 1 1 1 3 1 Indeterminate grass seeds (Poaceae) Indeterminate weed seeds Straw culm nodes Wheat/Barley grains (Triticum/Hordeum)
Table 2: Identified plant remains from Gortnahown 2, Co. Cork (E2426) continued Context 727 746 763 781 785 1007 1018 1028 1073 1253 1262 1274 1287 1288 1300 1320 1372 Sample 454 495 525 529 537 567 598 612 616 618 642 638 637 630 643 312 637 Indeterminate seeds from the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) 3 1 Hazelnut shell fragments (Corylus avellana L.) Indeterminate seeds from the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae) 1 Corn Spurrey (Spergula arvensis L.) Balck bindweed (Fallopia convolvulus L. Á Löve) Probable Sheep's sorrel (Rumex cf acetosella L.) Indeterminate seeds from the Knotgrass family (Polygonaceae) 1 26 1 Indeterminate seeds from the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) 1 Indeterminate seeds from the Legume family (Fabaceae) 1 1 Plantain (Plantago L. species) Probable Corn Marigold (Chrysanthem um cf segetum L.) Nipplewort (Lapsana communiz) 1 Indeterminate seeds from the daisy family (Asteraceae) 1 Indeterminate seeds from the sedge family (Cyperaceae) 2 Oat grains (Avena L. species) Possible oat grains (cf Avena species) Barley grains (Hordeum vulgare L.) Possible barley grains (cf Hordeum vulgare) Oat/Barley grains (Avena/Hordeum) Free threshing wheat (Triticum aestivum L./turgidum Desf./durum L.) Wheat grains (Triticum L. species) 1 2 1 178 1 4 1 85 1 14 1 1 3 11 2 Indeterminate cereal grains 4 1 119 1 1 Indeterminate grass seeds (Poaceae) 20 Indeterminate weed seeds 8 Straw culm nodes 2 Wheat/Barley grains (Triticum/Hordeum) 1 2 2 1 3 5 77