1997:242 - DROMTHACKER, Kerry

Excavations at Dromthacker were undertaken on behalf of the Institute of Technology, Tralee, in advance of the development of a new campus. The development site also includes a second ringfort (SMR 29:94), which is excluded from the development and remains unexcavated. A magnetic gradiometer survey of part of that site showed that it appears to have a double bank and ditch, though only part of the western bank survives above ground.

Ringfort
The ringfort was significantly altered in the recent past and landscaped as a garden feature. Excavation showed that the eastern bank section was reconstructed, possibly in the last century. The site is located on the side of a ridge with a south-westerly aspect at an altitude of c. 58m OD. The overall dimensions were 36m north-south by 32m east-west and estimated internal dimensions of 33m by 29m. The surrounding ditch was U-shaped in profile and was c. 1.5m deep and 2.5m wide at the upper levels, tapering to 0.8m at the base. The upper 0.5–0.6m of fill was modern and probably the result of the recent landscaping. The lower fills included backfilled gravel layers which may have been deliberate. A basal silt layer also indicated that the ditch was open for some time prior to backfilling. The original enclosing bank only survived on the west side, where it had been severely truncated and reduced in width and height, surviving to a maximum height of 1m and width of 1.5m at the base. The bank was gravel and boulder clay upcast from the ditch. There was some evidence that sod stripped from the ditch was piled on the pre-bank surface.

The interior of the fort had also been disturbed by modern activity and by cultivation furrows. The surviving occupation material was largely confined to the south-east quadrant. Two phases of occupation were established, with a period of abandonment of the site indicated by a regeneration of the sod layer.

Phase 1 of the occupation was represented by a scatter of post- and stake-holes with no discernible pattern, a paved area and a gully which skirted along the inner side of the original eastern bank. This gully is interpreted as a water-trap to catch run-off from the adjacent bank.

Phase 2 was represented by at least two circular structures with earthfast perimeter posts. The estimated diameter of the buildings is 7.5m and 9.5m, which is slightly larger than the house sizes normally recorded within ringforts. The buildings were located on the south-east side of the enclosure and it is likely that other structures existed within it, but evidence for these had been destroyed during alterations to the ringfort. The site also produced evidence for iron-smelting.

Enclosure
The site was indicated on the first edition of the OS maps as a curved field boundary and was not visible in the field prior to topsoil-stripping. The site then became apparent as an enclosure, c. 56m in diameter, delimited by a ring of fragmented sandstone stones which represented the levelled bank. The excavation showed that the surrounding ditch was 1.7–5.2m wide and 1.1–2.4m deep. The ditch was backfilled in two stages. The upper fill was modern, while the layers below appear to have been a deliberate backfill, perhaps in antiquity. Basal silt in the ditch fill indicated that the ditch had been open for some time prior to the primary infill.

The interior of the site did not contain any surviving features contemporary with the construction and use of the monument. The date of the monument is unknown. The absence of any obvious domestic remains may suggest a ritual function for the site.

A number of modern lime-burning kilns were recorded north of the enclosure. The morphology of the kilns was unusual in that they were circular pits, varying in diameter from 2.2m to 3.1m and with depths of 0.4–0.7m below the surface. The base of each kiln had a cruciform flue, visible as channels cut into the bases of the pits. The flues extended from the kilns to the south and took advantage of the prevailing south-westerly winds.

A number of post-levelling features were recorded on top of the bank of the enclosure, as were a modern hearth and fragmentary building remains to the north of the enclosure. These features are probably related to the industrial usage of the area in the 19th century.

Fulachtaí fiadh
Six possible fulachtaí fiadh were identified in the initial archaeological survey of the Dromthacker development by Michael Connolly. Of the six possible sites, two were of archaeological significance.

One site consisted of an oval mound, 14m by 10m, of fire-shattered stones. The site had been cut through by a modern drain in the area of the trough. A possible trough-pit was located on the west side of this modern drain, though no trough timbers or lining survived.

The second site was indicated on the second edition of the OS maps as a mound, but this had been removed prior to the excavation. The extant remains consisted of a spread of heat-shattered stones, approximately 4m in extent.

Trial-trenching of the Dromthacker site uncovered a number of modern features, including a paved hearth site, a number of post- and stake-holes and cultivation furrows.