Metalworking site

The National Monuments Service's description

Above the earliest sampled crannog occupation (ME005-088008-) a path (L c. 2.7m) consisting of planks laid transversely on two runners placed 0.9m approaches the mound from the N at the NE edge, probably from a jetty during Phase X. It leads to an occupation platform laid on a peat base, but a palisade retaining this peat base has not been identified. A plank from the path produced an estimated dendrochronological felling-date of 625 AD. This level consisted of a round house (ME005-088010-) with a metalworking area to the W and another to the NE (ME005-088009-) of the hut, between it and the path. The working area to the W (dims 5.3m x 5m) consisted of a furnace (diam. 0.35m; H 0.14m), a stone-lined area of burnt clay, a cobbled area and a dump of metal-working debris. This dump produced most of the artefacts from this phase, including a collection of crucible sherds, a motif piece and over 600 fragments of two-piece moulds, many of them decorated. (Bradley 1984-5, 83-5; 1990-1, 23-4; 1991, 18-22; O’Sullivan 1998, 106-07)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 6 September 2018

References

Bradley, J. 1990-91 Excavations at Moynagh Lough, Co. Meath 1985 and 1887. Ríocht na Mídhe vol. 8, No. 3, 21-35.

Bradley, J. 1985-6 Excavations at Moynagh Lough, Co. Meath 1984. Summary Report. Ríocht na Mídhe vol. 7, No. 4, 79-92.

Bradley, J. 1991 Excavations at Moynagh Lough. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 111, 5-26.

O'Sullivan, A. 1998 The archaeology of lake settlement in Ireland. Discovery Programme Monograph No. 4. Dublin. Royal Irish Academy.