Kiln - corn-drying

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a shelf on a NE and E-facing slope. Archaeological centre-line testing (04E1054) by D. Bayley (2005) at Testing Area 3 of Contract 5 of the M3 motorway (excavations.ie 2004:1223) identified archaeological material that was fully resolved (E003169) by E. Danaher between November 2006 and March 2007 as Chapelbride 4 (excavations.ie 2006:1528). Few stratigraphic relationships could be established, but elements of a field system, a hut-site and another structure as well as a ring-ditch testify to prehistoric activity and two corn-drying kilns extend into the first millennium AD.
This is an oval feature (dims 2.9m x 1.3-1.7m; D 0.08m) with a primary fill of grey/brown silty clay with some stones and charcoal, burnt animal bone and charred grain with weeds. This was beneath two layers of brown silty sands. Sample of hazel charcoal from the primary and final fills yielded C14 dates of 348-547 cal. AD (Beta 247150) and 415-585 cal. AD (Beta 247149) respectively. A second kiln c. 60m to the ESE is of the keyhole type (dims 2.5m x 0.6-1.27m; D 0.43m) that had three fills of grey silty clays with small stones, charcoal and inclusions that produced C14 dates of 415-585 cal. AD (Beta 247150) and 400-569 cal. AD (Beta 247151) from hazel charcoal in its primary and middle layers respectively. (O’Hara et al. 2008, 6)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 4 March 2022

O’Hara, R., Gallagher, D. and V. Ginn 2009 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 5 Final Report on the Archaeological Excavation of Chapelbride 4, Co. Meath. Licence: E003169. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Services

References

Bayley, D. 2005 M3 Navan – North of Kills, Contract 5, Kells to North of Kells. Report on Archaeological Assessment at Testing Area 3 in Chapelbride, County Meath. Licence: 04E1054. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy