Castle - motte and bailey

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on top of a fairly high ridge. According to the ‘Song of Dermot and the Earl’ Hugh de Lacy had granted the barony of Navan along with Ardbraccan to Jocelin de Angelo by 1175 (Orpen 1892, 229), and this motte and bailey was undoubtedly the caput or centre of the fief. De Angelo, which name morphed into Nangle, probably adapted the burial mound of Odhbha, a mythological queen whose name was attached to a grave on a ridge as well as the surrounding territory (Moore 1893, 56-7). She was the estranged wife of Éremón, a leader of the last mythical Milesian invasion of Ireland, who followed him to Ireland from Spain with her own sons (Macalister 1931, 94-5). As a significant landmark the mound of Odhbha was the scene of important battles in 607, 890, 1016 and 1072 (Cogan 1862, vol. 1, 150).
The motte was described in 1969 (SMR file) as an overgrown, flat-topped and scrub-covered earthen mound (diam. of top 15m N-S; diam. of base 37m N-S; H 4.5m at N to 6.8m at S) defined by the remains of a fosse (at N: Wth of top c. 10m; ext. D 1.5m). There is a small lunate bailey (dims 7m N-S; c. 20m E-W) defined by a steep scarp (at N: ext. H 4m) at NW. The area to the S has been quarried since the 19th century and the quarry has extended around to the E, but the old quarry is now developed for housing. Archaeological testing (97E0101) by T. C. Breen c. 70m to the NW (excavations.ie 1997:427) recovered the remains of two inhumations, a male (aged 18-23) and a female (aged 31-45) in a disturbed condition at the summit of the ridge.
Further excavation (99E0653) by M. Conway c. 20m from the base of the motte to the E and S produced no related material (excavations.ie 1999:702). More recently, a geophysical survey (19R0127) for a new road by Earthsound Geophysics identified some features in Area 5 c. 20m N of the motte at the closest point, and excavation (21E0294) by D. Gallagher confirmed the presence of ditches (excavations.ie 2021:124). The excavation was augmented by a metal detection survey (21R0109) which recovered a piece of iron that might be a strap-end (Gallagher 2021).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of revision: 21 July 2016
Amended: 29 March 2023

Cogan, Rev. A. 1862-70 Ecclesiastical history of the diocese of Meath: ancient and modern. (3 vols) John Fowler, Joseph Dublin
Gallagher, D. 2021 Archaeological Assessment at the N51 Park and Ride Moathill, Navan, Co. Meath. Licence: 21E0294. Unpublished Final Report, Archaeological Consultancy Services
Macalister, R. A. S. 1931 Tara: a pagan sanctuary of ancient Ireland. Charles Scribner’s Sons, London,
Moore, J. H. 1893-5 Notes on the Town of Navan. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. 123, 55-63; vol. 124, 47-53; vol. 125, 155-62.
Orpen, H. G. 1892 The Song of Dermot and the Earl. Oxford, Clarendon Press

References

Breen, T. C. 1998 Navan Moat (vicinity of), Moathill: Motte. In I. Bennett (ed.) Excavations 1997: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 142-3. No. 427. Bray, Wordwell