Field system

The National Monuments Service's description

It was identified (Licence no. 05E0415) undertaken within Killeen Castle Demesne in advance of golf course development. It was partially excavated (Licence no. 05E949). Located c.150m east of the burial and habitation site (ME038-045----) and c.16m west of ringfort (ME038-044001-) the site consists of intercutting enclosure ditches, pits and kilns. An arc (59m in length) of the northern enclosure ditch (Wth 1.9-4.4m; max. D 1.6m) was excavated. It contained 26 distinct fills. Analysis of plant remains revealed the presence of oats, wheat and barley while radiocarbon analysis returned a date range of AD 650-780. Internal to this ditch were small ditches, gullies, pits, postholes and spreads. A plano-convex knife of late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age date was retrieved from one of the gullies. External to the enclosing arc were thirteen interlinking ditches that formed a series of broad divisions. A number of kilns, furnaces and pits were located within these areas defined by the ditches. A sample from a keyhole-shaped kiln contained barley and oats and was radiocarbon dated to AD 420-600. Three furnaces were identified and interpreted as smelting furnaces. All three were subjected to radiocarbon analysis, returning dates within a range of AD 250-450. Given its location in proximity to a probable ringfort, its correlation with historical sources in layout, the presence of cereal-drying kilns and smelting kilns and its artefact-poor agricultural nature the site was interpreted as the airlise of a ringfort. (Baker 2009, 40-46)

Compiled by: Christine Baker

Date of upload: 22 February 2015

References

Baker, C. 2009 The Archaeology of Killeen Castle, Co. Meath. Wordwell Ltd. Bray.