House - early medieval

The National Monuments Service's description

This is one of four possible house sites (see also GA110-039021-, GA110-039022- and GA110-039024-) that were uncovered during the course of excavations in the SW part of Cutting 1, in the inner enclosure of Dún Aonghasa (GA110-039----). This example, identified as Structure 9, was located c. 3m from the cliff edge of the fort. It was defined by a well-preserved arc of walling (C 1.9m), which formed the W segment of the enclosing wall. The surviving portion consisted of five individual uprights tightly wedged together; packing stones plugged any large gaps. It survived because, like Structure 1 (GA110-039022-), the inner terrace of the inner enclosure wall had sealed it. The rest of the wall circuit had been robbed out. A projected reconstruction of its outline suggests that the building was circular in plan (int. diam. c. 5m). While no occupation surface was evident, the interface between the floor level and the subfloor horizon yielded a relatively large amount of food refuse, mainly animal bone and limpet shells and finds included cooking ware, a bone point, amber bead, a clay mould fragment and two corroded iron fragments. In the projected floor area of the N part of the house, an early medieval bone comb and a fragment of a second one were found. A hoard of Late Bronze Age buffered rings was found c. 1.35m to the SW of it (Cotter 2012, vol. 1, 249-53, 357, 360).

Compiled by: Olive Alcock

Date of upload: 23 June 2020

References

Cotter, C. 2012 The western stone forts project. Excavations at Dún Aonghasa and Dún Eoghanachta. 2 vols. Dublin. Wordwell Ltd.