1971:19 - DÚN ÁILINNE (td. Knockaulin), Kildare

Neolithic: two almost certainly Neolithic features have been located: both are stratigraphically earlier than any Iron Age features in their vicinity, and both produced Neolithic material only. One, a curved (but not an arc of a circle) trench in the western part of the excavated area, contained some flint debitage, a broken leafshaped arrowhead and a hollow scraper. The other, a large pit almost entirely cut away by a Later Iron Age trench in the south-eastern area, produced from the remains of its primary fill large sherds of a Linkardstown-type bowl and a small stone bead or pendant.

Iron Age: an extension of the excavation to the west showed several features that extend into as yet unexcavated ground. Some of these are clearly Iron Age, others cannot be related to already known structures, and are so of unknown date. One of the latter is a double row of small post holes, or stake holes, in an arc suggesting part of the perimeter of a circular hut; if this does prove to be circular, it will have a diameter of about 16m. On the eastern part of the excavated area, further topsoil was removed to show palisade trenches of Iron Age phases 2 and 3 continuing, thus linking portions of these trenches uncovered in previous years. Of particular interest are the two complex entrances through the triple trenches of phase 2: one is to the north east, the other to the south, and are quite different from each other (see plan in forthcoming report– ref. below) There is still no indication of residential activity in the Iron Age, and the ‘ceremonial’ interpretation of the Iron Age occupation remains plausible.

Ref. “Excavations at Dun Ailinne, near Kilcullen: 1971”, forthcoming in Journal of the Co. Kildare Arch. Soc. 1971