County: Armagh Site name: NAVAN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 12:15 Licence number: Chris J. Lynn, EHS, 5–33 Hill Street, Belfast BT1 2LA.
Author: Chris J. Lynn, EHS
Site type: Ceremonial enclosure
Period/Dating: Iron Age (800 BC-AD 339)
ITM: E 684683m, N 845152m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.348017, -6.697463
Further work was carried out on the newly discovered multi-slotted feature, Site C, adjacent to Site A, to determine the relationship, if any, between the two enclosures.
It was found that Site C was identical in layout to, though larger than, Site A, both being triple-slotted enclosures. Their outer rings were contemporary, forming a figure-of-eight plan analogous with other Iron Age complexes, such as Site B at Navan and the ‘Rose’ phase at Knockaulin, Co. Kildare. The inner edge of both rings contained burnt material that included animal bones—predominantly pig with some cattle and sheep represented. The only artefact recovered was from this slot in Site C, consisting of a small iron stirrup-shaped loop. The inner rings of both sites contained charcoal-filled post-holes joined by thin black seams, suggesting post-and-plank walls that had burnt down. The middle ring of Site C was filled with very clean, compact soil, explaining why it had not registered in the geophysical survey.
5–33 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LA
