1995:125 - DÚN AONGHASA, Kilmurvey, Inis Mór, Galway

The fourth and final season of excavation was carried out at Dún Aonghasa over ten weeks in summer 1995. The large cutting (Cutting 1) within the inner enclosure was extended southwards towards the cliff edge (called Cutting 12); Cutting 9 (opened in 1994 on the inside of the doorway in wall 2a [Excavations 1994, 39-40]) was also extended, the door passage here was half-sectioned and a cutting was opened on the exterior of the doorway (Cutting 10). Seven other small cuttings were opened: Cuttings 11 and 18 lay within the inner enclosure; Cuttings 14 and 17 were located immediately outside the inner enclosing wall; Cuttings 15, 21a/b/c related to the chevaux de frise and finally Cutting 16 was located at the outer enclosing wall.

Cutting 12 was opened to examine the relationship between the inner enclosing wall and the Late Bronze Age occupation deposits uncovered in previous seasons. The cliff- edge section of the inner enclosing wall has been rebuilt on many occasions this century. The relatively thin modern wall which now extends for 5m or so back from the cliff edge consists of only part of the original thickness of the wall (the outer face of the modern wall corresponds with that of the original). Slight traces of the foundations of the original inner half of the wall could be seen on the ground, and excavation here permitted a partial section (1m deep) back into the defences. Only 1 to 2 courses of the original wall foundations survived, but it was clear that the thickness of the wall had been built up in vertical skins. The skin which had formed the interior face of the wall (Face a) did not survive, though some scattered rubble may represent its remains. Face b, which lay behind this, was also poorly preserved, but sufficient remained to establish that it had been built over Late Bronze Age occupation deposits (0.4m deep max.). Part of the west wall of a hut (of similar construction to Hut 1 uncovered in 1992 [Excavations 1992, 31-32]) was sealed beneath Face b. No definite associated occupation level survived but the wall of the hut had been cut down into the Late Bronze Age deposits. These deposits abutted Face c, which lay 0.5m behind Face b. Face c sat on bedrock or on a thin skim of quarry clays and it may represent the remains of an earlier enclosing wall. The date of this possibly 'early' enclosing wall is unknown at present but charcoal, animal bones and seashells incorporated in its fabric indicate that it was preceded by some presence at the site. It is hoped to obtain a C14 date from this material.

The Late Bronze Age deposits which abutted this wall extended over part of the cutting, and four hollow bronze rings with lateral buffers were recovered from this material about 4m back from the cliff edge. About 70 of these rings are known to exist and they vary in size from 29mm to 73mm (external diameter not including buffers). The Dún Aonghasa examples at 33mm are amongst the smallest. The rings appear to be an exclusively Irish type and are conventionally dated to the Dowris Phase of the Late Bronze Age. The remainder of Cutting 12 was much eroded and, apart from a number of shallow pits (possibly of 'pot-boiler' type), no features were evident. The presence of about 40 scraps or fragments of iron mixed through the midden-type deposits here suggests a definite later presence. An antler comb, of late first-millennium AD date, was found close to this area in 1992.

Cutting 11 (2m by 2.6m) was located in the eastern half of the inner enclosure and was opened firstly to establish if the Late Bronze Age settlement extended into this area and secondly to examine the relationship between any surviving occupation deposits and the present enclosing wall (Wall 1). This half of the inner enclosure is extremely eroded, with bedrock visible over much of the area. However, within the area excavated, a bedrock hollow almost 0.5m deep extended in under the inner face of Wall 1. The hollow was filled with midden-type deposits but a curved setting of stones indicated some activity here other than dumping. The stone setting enclosed a concentration of limpet shells mixed with charcoal-flecked soil and the feature may represent a hearth for roasting limpets. A number of sherds of cooking ware were recovered from this material.

Cutting 17 was opened on the exterior of Wall 1 along this sector. No occupation deposits were evident here.

Cutting 14 was located outside the west sector of Wall 1 and lay 11.5m north of Cutting 4 excavated in 1994. The quarry uncovered in the latter was also evident in Cutting 14 and (on surface evidence) it seems likely that the quarry extended from the cliff edge on the south northwards as far as the entrance in Wall 2-a distance of over 55m. No dating evidence was recovered from the quarry fill and it is unclear therefore whether the quarry is associated with the construction of Walls 1 and 2 or with the 19th-century restoration work (the 19th-century buttresses here appear to be built of freshly quarried stone).

The extended area of Cutting 9 revealed evidence for occupation in the area beside the doorway in Wall 2a (middle enclosure wall). As described in Excavations 1994 the wall here may be of two-phase construction, with a lower terrace added to an earlier wall. The occupation deposits in Cutting 9 continued in beneath the terrace but their relationship to the earlier wall could not be established. A slot-trench was uncovered on the west side of the door passage. It had been cut down into the gravel band which runs through the site at this point; a number of post-holes (forming no definite ground-plan) lay in the area between the slot-trench and the enclosing wall and may represent the remains of a second structure. The presence of scallop shell (relatively rare on the site) in two of these postholes suggests some ritual activity. Along the east side of these features a well-made stone surface covered an area roughly 2m by 1m and continued in under the terrace wall. At the time of writing no dates are available for any of these features but a related spread of charcoal-flecked soil containing animal bone and shell yielded a few sherds of cooking ware.

No datable material was recovered from the excavations within the doorway itself and interpretation of the structural remains is complicated by the 19th-century restoration work here. The outer half of the door passage was narrowed by the insertion of two pillars resting on propping stones, and this activity resulted in much disturbance within the doorway. The doorway was finally blocked up in the 1950s.

The area outside the doorway (Cutting 10) consisted mainly of rubble and gravelly clay with a few localised deposits containing limpet shells or a small amount of animal bone. The activity associated with the slot-trench etc. in Cutting 9 does not appear to have extended out into this area. Part of the outer face of the enclosing wall had collapsed and been rebuilt over the rubble but, in the absence of datable material, it is difficult to say whether this activity took place during the occupation of the site or during the 19th-century restoration.

A dense band of uprights (generally over 1m in height) can be traced along much of the perimeter of the chevaux de frise. It would appear that these were erected first, probably to mark out the line of the chevaux de frise on the ground. Along the north sector the outer edge of the chevaux de frise kicks in by 7m, leaving a segment of this outer band isolated now from the main body of uprights.

Cutting 15 was located in this area and was bounded along the north by the isolated band of uprights and along the south by the main body of the chevaux de frise. Despite the presence of a deep gravel deposit, the uprights were placed directly on the old ground surface-no attempt was made to socket the stones into the underlying gravel. The uprights were kept in position by rubble packed in around them-in places this rubble is almost 1m high and in itself is a formidable obstacle.

Cutting 16 was located on the interior of the east (or downhill) sector of the outer wall and extended partly into the thickness of the wall. When first surveyed in 1992 it appeared that the wall here had largely collapsed and a later field wall had been built over it (thus in the published plans this sector appears as a single line only). However, on closer examination a number of set stones could be seen within the collapse and Cutting 16 was opened therefore to examine the make-up of the wall in more detail. Excavation revealed that the defences here consisted of a wall (1.75m thick on average) with an additional bank of rubble (c. 2m thick) butted against the inner face. The wall appears to have been of conventional coursed construction on the exterior face (1m high). The inner face, however, was formed of contiguous thin slabs of rock set on the longer axes and generally extending the full height of the extant section of wall (0.6m high). A number of uprights also formed a medial face within the thickness of the wall. The core of the wall was formed of rubble, with individual stones measuring up to 0.7m long.

The bank of rubble tailed down from the inner face of the wall and was 0.6m high max. It appears to have formed an integral part of the defences here-one of the inner facing stones was triangular in elevation and rested on its apex, a position it could not have maintained without the support of the rubble bank butted back against it. As a result of the excavation the remainder of the east sector of the outer wall has now been resurveyed. Work on the final publication of the excavations at Dún Aonghasa will be undertaken in 1996/7.

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