AR01055_EMAP_Gazetteer_of_Sites_4-2_10.pdf - The Heritage ...

Dublin
In the northern part of the enclosure, a rectangular pit was later truncated by a circular pit. They
contained dumped burnt material, animal bone, burnt bone, fragments of two iron knives, two pieces
of iron slag and appear to have been used as refuse pits. Another pit was centrally located and was
filled with hearth or kiln waste. An oval-shaped pit, possibly a storage pit or cistern, was located in
the south-western part of the enclosure. Its primary fill was radiocarbon dated to A.D. 648-771 which
suggests that it, like the above dated internal features, was contemporary with the primary
occupation of the settlement. Finds from the pit included a large piece of charred wood and animal
bone and it appears the pit was backfilled in a single episode after their deposition. A number of
smaller pits were also present within the enclosure.
A large L-shaped cereal-drying kiln was located in the north-eastern section of the enclosure but it
post-dated the occupation phase of the settlement. Similar deposits to those found within the kiln
were noted as dump material in the outer enclosure ditch and this was dated between the ninth and
tenth centuries (see below). Drying grain within an enclosed space would have been a fire hazard to
nearby dwellings, barns and pens so this further supports the suggestion that the kiln was a later
feature.
The distance between the inner and outer enclosure was consistently 20m and a number of subdivisions
were identified within this space. The outer enclosure ditch was cut into the loose stony
natural subsoil and varied in width and depth throughout. In the west, it was narrow and shallow but
it widened moving eastwards from 0.6m to 2.15m. It also became deeper and had a maximum depth
of 0.8m. It then narrowed at the curve before it gradually widened and deepened again. The ditch
was 2.8m wide and 1.05m deep at the point just before the limit of the excavation. The ditch
contained one main deposit with occasional fragments of animal bone (mostly from the eastern side).
Several dumps of material were also noted. An isolated dump of stone was recorded in the southwestern
section. An unidentifiable metal object was retrieved from this fill. Layers of charcoal-rich silt,
possibly dump material from the nearby kiln, were identified in the same area of the ditch. Three
layers of charcoal-rich silt, which overlay the main silting deposit, were also present in the northern
part of the ditch. A date of A.D. 859-988 was retrieved from one of these deposits which likely
represents a post occupational phase for the site during which time the large cereal-drying kiln was
used. Further kiln waste was recorded overlying the main deposit in the south-eastern curve of the
ditch. Other finds, other than the unidentifiable metal object, included another unidentifiable iron
object, a whetstone fragment and three pieces of struck flint. Apart from the moderate quantity of
animal bone, snail shell was also identified along the bottom fill in the south-western section. The
presence of a bank was suggested by an absence of any features within 2m of the inner part of the
ditch.
The space between the inner and outer enclosing ditches was divided into a number of field
enclosures (Fig. 1). Area A was a roughly square-shaped small field, which measured 13m northsouth
by 11m east-west, to the east of the inner enclosure’s entrance. Apart from very small
quantities of animal bone, the ditches were relatively sterile. A north-south ditch truncated the field.
It contained some animal bone, an iron knife fragment and a possible metal handle.
A second larger enclosed field was present to the east of the above field (Area B). It was roughly
rectangular in plan and measured 22m north-south by 16m east-west. The ditches were absent of
finds.
In Area C, another large field, roughly oval in plan measuring 45m north-south by 28m east-west,
was situated in the south-eastern part of the outer enclosure. Finds within the ditch included
moderate amounts of animal bone; including a piece of butchered antler, an iron knife, a possible iron
nail, an unidentifiable iron object, a piece of worked bone and a flint core. Charcoal from its fill was
radiocarbon dated to A.D. 663-783 which suggests that it was used during the settlement’s main
phase. Three areas of scorching and burning were identified within this field. A metalled surface was
uncovered close to the entrance of the field.
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