Hillfort

The National Monuments Service's description

The monument is situated on a spur of the Kilreekill ridge with commanding views to north, west and south-west and came to light in the course of archaeological investigations undertaken in advance of the construction of the M6 motorway. The following description is derived from that published by Mullins (2014). This multivallate hillfort is defined by four concentric fosses; an outer double fosse around the hill flanks (450m in diameter and covering c. 14.4 ha in area), a middle fosse and an inner fosse on the summit surrounding the later ringfort (GA086-211----) and adjoining enclosure (GA086-211003-). Despite the very large scale of the hillfort, the fosses were relatively modest in size being up to 4m wide and 1.5m deep (max.). The excavated evidence indicated that they had been cleaned out or recut in antiquity and eventually became filled with silt, slumping and ploughsoil. Among these fills were inclusions of animal bone, prehistoric artefacts, charcoal and pottery.

On the north face of the hill part of the innermost enclosure took the form of a scarp in the hillslope, rather than a proper fosse. In the west, there was a remnant of an earth bank between the outer double fosses. This survived because it had become incorporated within the base of a modern field boundary. Although this is the only upstanding evidence of any bank surviving in situ, it is probable that banks as well as fosses originally enclosed the whole of the hillfort. In the eastern sector, rubble in the fills of the outer, double fosses, suggests there was a stone revetment to the earthworks on that side.

The entrances to the hillfort were identified as simple breaks or gaps in the enclosing fosses, forming a series of openings aligned to the west and east. They varied in width from 1.4m to 6.2 m. There were no structural features associated with these gaps (e.g. post-holes for gates or wooden bridges). There may have been corresponding entrances on the north and south sides, but as these would have been outside the lands acquired for the new road, in parts of the hillfort that were not excavated, we cannot be sure of this.

From the combined evidence of radiocarbon dates and artefacts the hillfort can be dated to the Late Bronze Age. Charcoals from the inner, middle and outer fosse fills were dated to 994-827 BC (UB-7244), 1090-900 BC (Wk-22637), and 790-520 BC (Wk-22636), respectively. These dates correspond with pottery fragments from all three fosses, which are also from the Late Bronze Age. Objects recovered from the hillfort fosses include pottery sherds, a whetstone, antler picks, chipped stone tools in flint or chert, a bone pin fragment, and a polished stone axehead. There were over 450 pottery sherds, mostly from the innermost fosse, representing altogether at least seven coarse, flat-bottomed, bucket-shaped vessels of Late Bronze Age type.

The animal bone assemblage included cattle bones, the dominant type, pig, red deer, sheep/goat, and dog. Horse, hare, wildcat (probable) and some wild bird species were also represented. Charred plant remains were notably absent from all of the fosses which indicates that mixed animal husbandry was practiced with no significant evidence for arable farming. Cattle were the main meat providers but hunting red deer was important too. In common with the pottery, the concentration of bone in the middle and inner fosses suggests that food was consumed in the central part of the hillfort.

The remains of a further ringfort-like enclosure (GA086-256----) were discovered partly overlying the outer double-fosse c. 225m to the north-east.

Compiled by: Paul Walsh

Date of upload: 11 November 2015

References

Mullins, G. 2014 A hillfort, ringforts and field system at Rahally. In McKeon,J. and O'Sullivan, J. (eds) The quite landscape. Archaeological investigations on the M6 Galway to Ballinasloe national road scheme. Dublin. National Roads Authority.