1993:167 - HAYNESTOWN, Louth

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Louth Site name: HAYNESTOWN

Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 12:4 Licence number: 93E0098

Author: Muiris O'Sullivan

Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous (Kiln - corn-drying and Barrow - ring-barrow)

Period/Dating: Multi-period

ITM: E 703928m, N 803611m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.971328, -6.415874

In September 1992, trial-trenching under the direction of Valerie Keeley encountered the capstones of an underground structure which lay on the northern slopes of a prominent hillock (Excavations 1992, 46). On the summit of the hillock, less than 50m to the south, aerial photographs revealed a cropmark defining the remains of a curvilinear enclosure.

Corn-drying kiln
A more detailed investigation of the area, under the direction of the writer (with Valerie Keeley as overall Project Director) was conducted over an 18-week season during the period July-November 1993. The underground structure was revealed to be a corn-drying kiln attached to a storage shed. The wattle screens used in the drying process were found in carbonised form on the floor of the storage shed. In addition, carbonised seeds from a variety of crops and weeds were also preserved. A substantial ditch ran downhill from the mouth of the kiln, and two adult human skeletons were found in the fill of this ditch. The sole artefact was a rounded flint scraper which was also found in the fill. Further investigations showed that the entire hillside had been the focus of considerable human activity in the past. Ditches, pits, postholes and various other features were discovered beneath the ploughsoil. Further rounded scrapers and other pieces of flint were found as stray finds in the ploughsoil. Although the ploughsoil was almost 1m deep in places, cultivation during the centuries had disturbed the ancient features which, consequently, were usually preserved only in the subsoil beneath.

Ringbarrow
A ringbarrow was encountered at the base of the hillock. The ditch of this ringbarrow had been filled and partially re-cut at least once. The fill was considerably burnt and it contained cremated bone, slag, pieces of metal artefacts, a bead, sherds of flat-bottomed pottery, flint flakes and some water-rolled stones. Subsequent activity associated with cultivation had sheared off the central area, leaving only the base of a fire-reddened pit in the middle. A platform associated with postholes lay beside the ringbarrow; the platform and ringbarrow appear to have been contemporary, and an undecorated blue glass bead was found on the surface of the platform.

Discussion
The kiln might normally be considered a medieval structure, but the occurrence of skeletons in the associated ditch, one of them almost at the mouth of the kiln, is an intriguing complication. The ringbarrow and associated platform may be assigned to the later prehistoric era. The chronological context of the other features is still unclear. The enclosure, which is visible on the aerial photographs, lies outside the planned route of the road and has not been investigated. Further investigations are planned during 1994.

Moneystown, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow