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

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Westmeath<br />

Togherstown, Co. Westmeath<br />

Early Medieval Settlement Enclosure<br />

Grid reference: N29514986 (229517/249864)<br />

SMR No: WM024-028<br />

Excavation Licence No: N/A<br />

Excavation duration/year: August-September 1929; March-April 1930.<br />

Site directors: R.A.S. Macalister & R.L. Praeger (University College, Dublin).<br />

<strong>The</strong> site consists <strong>of</strong> a central area, raised approximately 1.5m above the ground surface, with<br />

two concentric rings <strong>of</strong> banks and ditches (Fig. 315). Excavations on the outer ditch revealed<br />

a layer <strong>of</strong> stones at the base <strong>of</strong> the ditch. <strong>The</strong> outer face <strong>of</strong> the outer bank has a revetment<br />

<strong>of</strong> stones, but this appears to have been added after the outer ditch had been filled. A<br />

number <strong>of</strong> enigmatic structural features were located in the intervening space between the<br />

outer and inner bank-and-ditch. <strong>The</strong> inner ditch is a maximum <strong>of</strong> 1.8m deep and the outer<br />

face <strong>of</strong> the inner bank also appears to have had a stone revetment. <strong>The</strong> interior <strong>of</strong> the site<br />

was subdivided by cross-walls. A large fire pit – approximately 2.1m in diameter, with up to<br />

0.6m depth <strong>of</strong> ash – was located in one <strong>of</strong> these courts. Un-burnt bone was associated with<br />

this layer <strong>of</strong> ash. A series <strong>of</strong> postholes presumably marks the location <strong>of</strong> a house and this<br />

appears to have been associated with access to one <strong>of</strong> the souterrains on site. This souterrain<br />

– the ‘Greater Souterrain’ – consisted <strong>of</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> chambers and creeps. An Anglo-Saxon<br />

saucer brooch was found in one <strong>of</strong> the chambers. No finds are recorded for the ‘Lesser<br />

Souterrain’. <strong>The</strong> upper stone <strong>of</strong> a rotary quern was found on site, as was a socket-stone for a<br />

wooden door upright. Fragments <strong>of</strong> a bone comb and button were also found on site. As well<br />

as the saucer brooch, a bronze pin was recovered from the fill <strong>of</strong> the inner ditch; seven iron<br />

knife blades and an iron sickle were also found on site.<br />

Fig. 315: Plan <strong>of</strong> Togherstown, Co. Westmeath (after Macalister & Praeger 1931-2).<br />

Reference:<br />

Macalister, R. A. S. & Praeger, R. L. 1931-2. <strong>The</strong> excavation <strong>of</strong> an ancient structure on the townland<br />

<strong>of</strong> Togherstown, Co. Westmeath. Proceedings <strong>of</strong> the Royal Irish Academy Section C, 40C, 54–83.<br />

716

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