Kiln - corn-drying

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a rise in a gently undulating landscape. Archaeological testing (04E1056) by G. McLoughlin (2005) at Test Area 5 of Contract 5 of the M3 identified pits (excavations.ie 2004:1200) that were fully excavated (E003178) by S. Reilly in January 2007 (excavations.ie 2007:1276) as Castlekeeran 1. This is a small keyhole-shaped corn-drying kiln (dims 2.3m x 1.5m; max. D 0.74m) with evidence of a lining of small stones set in the fill of an earlier usage that contained some cremated bone together with evidence of barley, wheat, rye and oats. The stone-lined kiln had three fills and evidence of the same mix of cereals. A sample of willow charcoal from its lowest fill produced a C14 date of 392-562 cal. AD (Beta 247180). A circular pit (diam. 3m; max. D 0.76m) with seven fills was 8m to the SW and had three fills including cremated bone and animal bone as well as cereal grains. (Reilly and Ginn 2008)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 4 March 2022

References

McLoughlin, G. 2005 M3 Clonee-North of Kells; Contract 5, Kells to North of Kells. Report on Archaeological Assessment at Testing Area 9 in Castlekeeran, County Meath. Licence: 04E1056. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy

Reilly, S. and V. Ginn 2008 M3 Clonee-North of Kells; Contract 5, Kells to North of Kells. Final Report on the Archaeological Excavation of Castlekeeran 1, Co. Meath. Licence: E003178. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Services