County: Kildare Site name: COLTSTOWN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 40:24 Licence number: 02E1589
Author: Martin E. Byrne
Site type: Ringfort - unclassified
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 680319m, N 683059m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.892399, -6.806381
Testing in this area was undertaken on 16 October 2002 before the start of work on the Castledermot Water-Supply Scheme because of the proximity of the pipe route to a ringfort site. The monument had been almost fully levelled. It stood on a slight rise in well-drained pasture. The outline could be traced with difficulty. A section of the south-west bank still exists as part of a field boundary.
A single trench was excavated along the grass margin separating the external boundary of the monument from the adjacent road. The trench was c. 1m wide and was excavated by a machine fitted with a toothless bucket. The depth of the trench was such that the natural subsoil was excavated to a general depth of 0.15m. In general, the topsoil was up to 0.32m deep and lay directly on the natural, undisturbed subsoil. No features of archaeological interest were uncovered. It had been expected to uncover the subsurface remains of an external fosse associated with the monument, but no such feature was found. Given the results of the testing, and the plateau-like form of the site topography, it is suggested that this ringfort is of the ‘raised platform’ typology.
31 Millford, Athgarvan, Co. Kildare
