County: Westmeath Site name: LACKAN, Multyfarnham
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 6:70 Licence number: 99E0036
Author: Sylvia Desmond, for Judith Carroll & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Ringfort - rath and Souterrain
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 637657m, N 765405m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.637093, -7.430569
Eleven test-trenches were excavated by machine, during January 1999, on the site of a souterrain. It was proposed to erect two houses within the general area of this monument, the exact location of which was not known before the test excavations.
Five trenches for House 1, which varied from 10m to 20m long and were all 1.5m wide, were excavated by machine down to natural boulder clay, which was revealed at 0.3m below the sod. These trenches, in the southern portion of the site, revealed no archaeological remains.
A further six trenches, including a small cut for a sewage tank, ranging from 10m to 20m long and 1.5m wide, were excavated in the northern portion of the site for House 2. All of these trenches revealed charcoal flecking and archaeological features. The trenches revealed that the souterrain lay within the central area of the proposed location for this house. The souterrain passage ran completely across the width of the site for House 2 in an east-west direction. It was traced for a length of 25m, and it was obvious that it extended out under the present Multyfarnham road. The souterrain lay only 0.2m under the topsoil and consisted of large stones, 0.3m x 0.2m, laid flat. These stones appeared to form the roof of the souterrain, which was 1m wide.
Several other features were revealed within the trenches. Trench 1 revealed a linear feature cut into the natural boulder clay, 3.5m wide and 0.4m deep. Trench 2 revealed two linear features. Both were up to 3m wide with a maximum depth of 0.7m. The fill of these features contained a considerable amount of charcoal and bone. Although the features appeared as linear cuts, they may have been portions of pits, filled with occupation debris. Trench 2, within which the souterrain passage was clearly defined, also revealed areas of paving and deposits of charcoal. The souterrain passage was also clearly revealed in Trench 9 and again was associated with linear cuts and disturbed soil.
It was apparent that this large souterrain passage was within a substantial ringfort. The southern bank and ditch are well defined, but the western portion was very difficult to ascertain, as was the northern portion. The remains of the bank and ditch were investigated on the southern portion of the ringfort. The ditch was just under 1m wide and 0.6m deep, and the bank remained to a height of 0.6m, with a width of 2m. Observations on the ground indicate that the northern portion of the ringfort may have extended into the grounds of an extant cottage and that the ringfort may also have extended across the road. An approximate estimation of the ringfort within the area outlined for the houses is 38m north-south by 30m.
A small quantity of animal bone, together with some sherds of post-medieval pottery, was retrieved from the trenches.
25 Rowan Hall, Millbrook Court, Milltown, Dublin 6 and Pine Forest Art Centre, Pine Forest Road, Glencullen
