2001:631 - CORBALLY, Kildare

The kilns were first recorded under licence 00E0864 but were ultimately excavated under licence 01E0299. That licence (01E0299) became the main licence for all of the Phase 2 excavations at Corbally when Dúchas declared the area an archaeological landscape.
Prior to the completion of the House 4 excavation (see Excavations 2001, No. 630), soil reduction to the west of the site took place under an extension of the above licence, which revealed further features in this part of the site.

These features include a series of seven kilns. Four of these kilns were distinctive in form, having a figure-of-eight plan. All were aligned north-west/south-east. In general, they consisted of two earth-cut pits, one of which displayed a lining of burned clay. The pits were linked by a narrow flue rising from the firing pit to the actual kiln, which resulted in slight level variation between one side and the other. Large amounts of charred seed were recovered from the fills. The species represented within the sample were hulled barley, wheat and oats. The presence of oats in Ireland is not noted until early historic times, which suggests that these kilns may originate in the Early Christian or early medieval period. Some prehistoric flint flakes and coarse pottery have been recovered from the fill of these kilns. A further two kilns of similar form and alignment lay to the north-west. These were substantially larger and not quite as clearly defined. Again, quantities of charred seeds were recovered, as well as a plano-convex flint knife and some débitage.

Testing on features to the south-west of House 4 revealed a stone-lined kiln of substantial proportions. A pit lined with roughly coursed rubble masonry battered slightly inwards towards its base and reaching a maximum depth of 0.8m formed the kiln. From the basal fill two fragments of coarse pottery were recovered, along with some environmental samples including some seeds. Excavation revealed that it was quite a large kiln, with a firing pit and rake-out pit to the north-east linked by a flue to the actual kiln. Removal of the stone lining of the kiln towards the end of the excavation exposed extensive evidence for a burned clay lining. This suggests that this kiln was originally earth-cut and was later stone-lined. This appears to indicate that the earth-cut kilns pre-date the stone-lined kiln.

Over the whole area on the west to south-west of the site ephemeral features were found, including shallow ditches, pits and vague outlines, that could be interpreted as possible structures. In general, it was very difficult to separate these features into distinct archaeological entities. The overall impression is that the features constituted an extensive land drainage system or possibly vestiges of earlier land enclosure. Testing of these features supported this theory, as the majority of the features appeared to have naturally silted up.

Other features showed evidence of having been used for aspects of the agricultural activities involving the kilns. Deposits of charcoal and charred seeds constituted part of the fill of one of these ditches. Initial analysis of the charred remains from the kilns has shown some evidence for germinating barley. This would suggest that the area might have been used for the malting process, indicating that the kilns were multi-functional, being used both for the drying of wheat, oats and barley and for stopping the germination of the barley in the malting process.

2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin