Kiln - corn-drying

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a slight E-facing slope in a gently undulating landscape. Archaeological testing (04E0917) by J. Roynane (2005) at Testing Area 10 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified (excavations.ie 2004:1270) archaeological material that was fully excavated (E003142) in January to March 2007 by D. Bayley (2011) as Kilmainham 1B when 15623 square metres in an L-shaped area was opened (excavations.ie 2007:1335) to investigate isolated items from four phases of prehistoric activity ranging from the Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age. The prehistoric material consists mainly of pits and hearths and no structures have been identified. Four early medieval corn-drying kilns, dating 335-560 cal. AD, were also recorded. The excavated area was just S of the multi-period complex of Kilmainham 1C.

Four corn-drying kilns placed 3-12m apart formed an E-W line at the N of the excavated area. From the W the kilns are a figure-of-eight pit (dims 2.15m N-S; 0.75m E-W; D 0.14m) with a stepped base that was deepest at N where there was in situ burning. It had five fills of brown to orange sandy clays with charcoal and burnt clay. A charred barley grain from the second fill provided a C14 date of 427-560 cal. AD (UBA 15477). Just 3m to the E was a poorly defined dumb-bell shaped kiln (dims 2.16m N-S; 1.2m E-W; D 0.44m) with evidence of burning in the N pit. It had four fills of brown to yellow/orange silty clays with high volumes of carbonised barley and oats and lesser volumes of wild taxa in the fills. A charred barley grain from the primary fill yielded the C14 date of 355-532 cal. AD (UBA 15478). About 8m to the E was a keyhole-type kiln (dims 2.6m N-S; 1.5m E-W; D 0.37m) with the firing end at N and a flue extending S from it. A fragment of hazel charcoal from the layer of black clayey silt that formed the primary fill returned a C14 date of 406-537 cal. AD (UBA 12067), but an important aspect of this kiln is that it cut the group of later prehistoric intercutting hearths associated with a working area. The final kiln figure-of-eight kiln (dims 1.98m NNW-SSE; 0.88m E-W; D 0.35m) is 12m to the E, with in situ burning in a yellow/orange burnt clay at the base of the deeper N end. It seems to have had only one firing with burnt bone and a relatively low amount of carbonised grain in the residue. A charred barley grain from this returned a radiocarbon determination of 429-545 cal. AD (UBA 15479). (Bayley 2011, 15-19)

See the attached site plan from Bayley (2011, fig. 6)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 16 March 2022

References

Bayley, D. 2011 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 4, Navan to Kells and Kells Bypass. Final Report on Kilmainham 1B, Co. Meath. Licence: E003142. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological

Roynane, J. 2005 M3 Clonee-North of Kells; Contract 4, Navan - Kells and Kells Bypass. Report on Archaeological Assessment at Testing Area 10 in Kilmainham, County Meath. Licence: 04E0917. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy