Analysis of plant remains from Gortore 1b, Co. Cork (E2410) By Penny Johnston

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1 Technical report Analysis of plant remains from Gortore 1b, Co. Cork (E2410) By Penny Johnston May 2010 Cite as: Johnston, P. (2010). Analysis of plant remains from Gortore 1b, Co. Cork (E2410). Technical report. Further information: Hegarty, L. (2011). Archaeological Excavation Rport E2410 Gortore 1b, Co. Cork Mesolthic, Neolithic, and Early Bronze Age activity on the banks of the River Funshion. Eachtra Journal, 10. Retrieved from This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit

2 Appendix 5 Plant remains Analysis of the plant remains from Gortore 1b, Co. Cork (E2410) By Penny Johnston Introduction This report details the results of plant remains analysis from Gortore 1b, Co. Cork (E2410). The site comprised a Neolithic rectangular house, many pits and post-holes indicative of external domestic activity. Methodology The samples were collected on site as bulk soil and were processed using machineassisted floatation (following guidelines in Pearsall 2000). The floating material (or flot ) from each sample was collected in a stack of geological sieves (the smallest mesh size was 250μm). When all the carbonised material was collected the flot was then air-dried in paper-lined drying trays prior to storage in airtight plastic bags. The samples were scanned under low-powered magnification (x 10 to x 40) using a binocular microscope. Nomenclature and taxonomic order follows Stace (1997). Results The results of preliminary scanning are presented in Table 1 at the end of this report. A total of 99 samples were scanned and plant remains were present in 54 of the samples. The identifications are presented in Tables 2-5. The plant material from this site is split-up according to the different phases of activity at the site, from the Early Mesolithic, the Early Neolithic, the Middle and Late Neolithic and the early medieval period. Early Mesolithic plant remains Radiocarbon dates and lithic finds indicated some Mesolthic activity at Gortore 1b, in particular associated with pits near the river bank. The radiocarbon date from the crescent-shaped pit C.527 (taken from hazelnut shell fragments) indicated a Mesolithic date and a similar Mesolithic date was returned from another pit C.479 where hazelnut shell fragments were also recovered in relatively large quantities (from C.41 from the re-cut pit C.122 within this pit). Hazelnut shell fragments were found in abundance in samples from both of these features. These results indicate that hazelnuts were a common wild food that was exploited during the Mesolithic at this site. These are common finds in Mesolithic deposits from northern Europe (Robinson and Harild 2002, 84). However, a small quantity of other plant items was also recovered from these samples (as shown in Figure 1).

3 Knotgrass Legume Plantain Cleavers Other plant items Figure 1 Wild plant remains recovered from Mesolithic samples at Gortore 1b In general, the remains from these features appear to represent food waste, most of it coming from the crescent-shaped pit C.527. Some of the plant remains included berries and fruit stones. As these items were all from Mesolithic contexts it is likely that they were gathered plant material. Most recent archaeobotanical studies of material from Mesolithic sites across Europe have concentrated on identification of fibres and tubers, rather than seeds. This type of material has only rarely been identified from archaeological contexts in temperate Europe (Kubiak-Martens 2002, 2). Some examples include the Danish Late Mesolithic sites of Halsskov and Tybrind Vig, dating to between 5600 and 4000 BC, where the charred remains of roots from ramsons (wild garlic), pignut and sea beet, hazelnut and acorn shell fragments, berries such as raspberries and seeds from fat hen, oraches, knotgrass, sweet-grass and water lily were found (Kubiak-Martens 2002, 24 29; Kubiak- Martens 1999, 117). While some plant fibres and tubers were more than likely used at Gortore 1b they are not included in this report because of (1) it is likely that much of the plant material used at the site was not exposed to fire and has therefore not been preserved, (2) to the dearth of specialist knowledge and () to the limits of time and budget that constrain further investigation of these items. Further specialist work on the material is ongoing but lies beyond the limits of this technical report. The preservation of the material from Gortore 1b was poor but this is generally the case in material of this type, being generally only found in very favourable circumstances (Behre 2008, 65). Fruits and seeds, such as the material from Gortore, are not often recovered from European Mesolithic sites and, when they are, preservation is generally so poor that identification is often difficult (Perry 2002, 110). However, some comparative Mesolithic charred plant material is known from Irish sites, such as the rich assemblage found at Clowanstown 1. It included wheat,

4 barley, flax, hazelnut, crowberry, sedges, pondweed, vetchs and alder cones, although the cereal grains were interpreted as later, intrusive remains (Archaeological Services University of Durham 2009). Early Neolithic plant remains Only three samples with plant remains (from cut features C.99, C.420 and C.47) were associated with the Early Neolithic house at Gortore 1b. The remains were very poor and included just a small amount of hazelnut shell fragments, some indeterminate cereal grains and possible tuber fragments. These results were unusually poor, since samples from Early Neolithic houses at Gortore 1 (Johnston 2006), Corbally, Co. Kildare (Purcell 2002), Tankardstown South, Co. Limerick (Monk 1988, ), Ballygalley, Co. Antrim, (Simpson 199) and Cloghers I (Kiely and Dunne 2005). have all produced reasonably large assemblages of plant remains, cereals in particular. However, the house at Gortore 1b was extremely truncated and this may have militated against the recovery of good assemblages of plant remains, as occurred at Kishoge, Co. Dublin, for example (Johnston 200/4). However, the plant remains were not widely associated with the deposits from the Neolithic house at Gortore 1b and the only cereal remains recovered were not identifiable to type (Ceralia). Hazelnut shell fragments were found, as is relatively common from samples throughout prehistory (and into the historic period). The only material of note from these samples was the fragment from a possible tuber. Charred tubers are sometimes recovered from cremation deposits, for example at Ballyveelish, Co. Tipperary (Monk 1987) but at Gortore the remains appear to be associated with domestic occupation. It is possible that tubers were used as starchy food but it also possible that grass was pulled up, dried and used as tinder. Possible Early and Middle Neolithic plant remains The north-western part of the site was riddled with swallow-holes and the archaeological features in this area are disturbed. The finds from this area of the site included some Early and Middle Neolithic vessels and it is possible that the archaeological remains from this area date to the Neolithic. One sample from this area contained more than ten cereal grains, from the post-hole C.12. Most of the grains were indeterminate (Ceralia) but some of the remains were identified as barley and wheat. Early medieval plant remains Early medieval radiocarbon dates (approximately seventh to eighth century AD) were obtained from an area located approximately 2.25 m to the south-east of the Neolithic house. Three samples from the pit C.9 (from C.12, C.1 and C.96) were amongst the richest cereal assemblages from the site. Another relatively rich cereal assemblage was recovered from a sample taken from the fill of the adjacent pit C.94. Both barley and wheat were recovered from these samples (Figure 2).

5 Counts (C.9) 1 (C.9) 96 (C.9) 24 (C.94) Contexts Barley Emmer wheat Wheat grains Barley/Wheat Ceralia Figure 2: Cereal remains from different contexts within the pits C.9 and C.94 There were large quantities of indeterminate cereals in these samples, making up 89% of the total cereal assemblage (Figure ). This indicates that preservation quality was poor. Of the identifiable remains, roughly equal quantities of wheat and barley were recovered. A small quantity of the wheat remains were identified as the primitive glume wheat, emmer. It was not possible to identify any of the barley grains to type. One immature oat grain was also recovered from these samples, but the general dearth of oat grains from early medieval assemblages is relatively unusual. Oat is often recovered in abundance in samples from sites of early medieval date (e.g. Monk et al. 1998).

6 N = 182 Barley 6% Wheat 5% Ceralia 89% Figure : Percentage distribution of cereals in early medieval samples Plant remains from features of unknown date Most of the samples from this site were not in features from dateable contexts, 6 samples in total. Most of the plant remains from these features were identified as hazelnut shell fragments, with 11 fragments counted. Hazelnut shell fragments are frequent finds in Irish archaeological sites. Their frequency is due partly to the fact that they were collected, eaten and used frequently in the past. It is also partly due to the taphonomic factors that govern the preservation of hazelnut shells (as outlined in Monk 2000, 74 75). The fact that these were widely distributed in the samples from Gortore 1b suggests that these wild foods were probably utilised through all phases of activity at the site, not only gathered by hunter-gatherers in the Mesolithic but gathered and used throughout prehistory and prehistory. A small quantity of cereal grains were also recovered from the samples of unknown date, just over 0 grains were counted, including both wheat and barley, although barley was marginally more common. Single examples of haw stones, legumes, and plantain seeds were also recovered from these samples. Penny Johnston May 2010 References Archaeological Services University of Durham (2009) Appendix 17: Environmental Report, in Mossop, M. and Mossop, E. Report of the archaeological excavation of

7 Clowanstown 1, Co. Meath A008/011 E064. Excavation report for Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd. Online: (accessed 20 May 2010). Behre, K.-E. (2008) Collected seeds and fruits from herbs as prehistoric food, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 17, Johnston, P. (2006) Appendix 4 Charred plant remains from Gortore 1b (E2119), unpublished technical report for Eachtra Archaeological Projects. Johnston, P. (200/4) Appendix I Plant Remains, in E. O Donovan A Neolithic House at Kishoge, Co.Dublin, Journal of Irish Archaeology XII & XIII, Kiely, J. and Dunne, L. (2005) Recent Archaeological Excavations in the Tralee Area, in M. Connolly (ed.) Past Kingdoms: Recent Archaeological Research, Survey and Excavation in County Kerry. Castleisland, Kerry County Council and The Heritage Council. Kubiak-Martens, L. (2002) New evidence for the use of root foods in pre-agrarian subsistence recovered from the late Mesolithic site at Halsskov, Denmark, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 11, 2 1. Kubiak-Martens, L. (1999) The plant food component of the diet at the late Mesolithic (Ertebolle) settlement at Tybrind Vig, Denmark, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 8, Monk, M. (2000) Seeds and soils of discontent, pp in A. Desmond, G. Johnson, M. McCarthy, J. Sheehan and E. Shee Twohig (eds.) New Agendas in Irish prehistory. Bray, Wordwell. Monk, M.A., Tierney, J. and Hannon, M. (1998) Archaeobotanical studies and early medieval Munster, pp in Monk, M.A. and Sheehan, J. (eds) Early Medieval Munster. Archaeology, history and society. Cork, Cork University Press. Monk, M. A. (1988) Appendix : Archaeobotanical samples from pipeline sites, in M. Gowen Three Irish Gas Pipelines: New Archaeological Evidence from Munster. Dublin, Wordwell. Monk, M. (1987) Appendix V: The charred plant remains from Ballyveelish, in Doody, M. Ballyveelish, Co. Tipperary, in Cleary, R. M., Hurley, M. F. and Twohig, E. A. (eds.) Archaeological Excavations on the Cork-Dublin Gas Pipeline ( ) Cork: Cork Archaeological Studies No.1. Pearsall, D. (2000) Paleoethnobotany: a Handbook of Procedures. New York, Academic Press. Perry, D. (2002) Preliminary results of an archaeobotanical analysis of Mesolithic sites in the Veenkiliníen, Province of Groningen, the Netherlands, pp in Mason, S. and Hather, J. (eds.) Hunter-Gatherer Archaeobotany. Perspectives from the northern temperate zone. London, Institute of Archaeology. Purcell, A. (2002) Excavation of three Neolithic houses at Corbally, Kilcullen, County Kildare, Journal of Irish Archaeology XI, 1-75.

8 Robinson, D. and Harild, J. (2002) Archaeobotany of an early Ertebolle (Late Mesolithic) site at Halsskov, Zealand, Denmark, pp in Mason, S. and Hather, J. (eds.) Hunter-Gatherer Archaeobotany. Perspectives from the northern temperate zone. London, Institute of Archaeology. Simpson, D. (199) The Neolithic Settlement Site at Ballygalley, Co. Antrim, in E. Grogan and C. Mount (eds.) Annus Archaeology: Proceedings of the Organisation of Irish Archaeologists Conference 199, Stace, C. A. (1997) New Flora of the British Isles. (2nd edition) Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

9 Table 1: Assessment of plant remains from Gortore 1b (E2410) Table 1 Sample Context Charcoal Seeds % Scanned 6 8 L-M L L H M H M H L Absent M L H L H H H H 05-Oct H H H H H M H H H M M L-M H H L L L Absent L Absent H Absent M L-M M M L Absent L Absent L L L Absent L L L Absent L Absent L Absent L Absent L-M L L Absent L L M L L Absent L L L L L L M L L Absent M L L L L Absent M Absent H M M L 100

10 Table 1 Sample Context Charcoal Seeds % Scanned M M L M L-M L L L L L M Absent L L L Absent L Absent M Absent M Absent L L H Absent M-H Absent L L L Absent H L L Absent M L L Absent H M L Absent H Absent M L H Absent H L M Absent M L H Absent M L L Absent AB-L Absent AB-L Absent L-M L L Absent ABSENT L H Absent L Absent AB-L Absent L Absent L Absent L Absent L L H L L Absent L-M L L-M Absent L L L Absent 100

11 Table 1 Sample Context Charcoal Seeds % Scanned M L M-H L 100 Key : L = Low, M = Medium and H = High Table 2: Identified seeds from Mesolithic features at Gortore 1b, Co. Cork Cut Context Sample Hazelnut shell fragments (Corylus avellana L.) Indeterminate seeds from the Knotgrass family (Polygonaceae) 1 4 Indeterminate seeds from the Legume family (Fabaceae) Plantain (Plantago L. species) 1 Cleavers (Galium aparine L.) Indeterminate weed seeds Possible berry type Table : Identified seeds from Early Neolithic features at Gortore 1b, Co. Cork Cut Context Sample Hazelnut shell fragments (Corylus avellana L.) 1 1 Indeterminate cereal grains (Ceralia) 1 Possible indeterminate tuber fragments 1 Table 4: Identified seeds from early medieval features at Gortore 1b, Co. Cork Cut Context Sample Hazelnut shell fragments (Corylus avellana L.) 1 1 Pale persicaria (Persicaria lapathifolia (L.) Gray) 16 Balck bindweed (Fallopia convolvulus (L.( Á Löve) 7 24 Indeterminate seeds from the Knotgrass family (Polygonaceae) Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.) capsule Indeterminate seeds from the mint family (Lamiaceae) 1 Plantain (Plantago L. species) 1 Barley grains (Hordeum vulgare L.) Possible barley grains (cf Hordeum vulgare) 2 Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum L.) two seeded grain 4 Wheat grains (Triticum L. species) 1 Possible wheat grains (cf Triticum species) 2 Barley/Wheat (Hordeum/Triticum) 20 Indeterminate cereal grains (Ceralia) Indetermiante grasses, Avena type 1 Indeterminate grass seeds (Poaceae)

12 Table 5: Identified seeds from features of unknown date at Gortore 1b, Co. Cork Cut Context Sample Hazelnut shell fragments (Corylus avellana L.) Nut fragment 1 Hawthorn: haw stones (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.) 1 Indeterminate seeds from the Legume family (Fabaceae) 1 Plantain (Plantago L. species) Cleavers (Galium aparine L.) Barley grains (Hordeum vulgare L.) 2* Possible barley grains (cf Hordeum vulgare) Wheat grains (Triticum L. species) 1 Barley/Wheat (Hordeum/Triticum) 1 Indeterminate cereal grains (Ceralia) Indeterminate weed seeds Possible indeterminate tuber fragments

13 Table 5: Identified seeds from features of unknown date at Gortore 1b, Co. Cork (continued) Cut Context Sample Hazelnut shell fragments (Corylus avellana L.) Nut fragment Hawthorn: haw stones (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.) Indeterminate seeds from the Legume family (Fabaceae) Plantain (Plantago L. species) 1 Cleavers (Galium aparine L.) 1 Barley grains (Hordeum vulgare L.) 2 2 Possible barley grains (cf Hordeum vulgare) 1 1 Wheat grains (Triticum L. species) 2 Barley/Wheat (Hordeum/Triticum) Indeterminate cereal grains (Ceralia) Indeterminate weed seeds 1 1 Possible indeterminate tuber fragments