2002:1884 - KNOCKDOMNY (BGE 1B/94/1), Westmeath

This site was excavated as part of Bord Gáis Éireann’s Pipeline to the West project. The excavation of a prehistoric round house was conducted on the relatively high ground of Knockdomny, c. 3km north-west of the town of Moate. The site lay a little below a hilltop to the north, with extensive views to the east, south and west, across the flat midlands, to the Slieve Bloom Mountains in the south. The excavated area was broadly rectangular, measuring 20m east–west by 25m, and sloped gently down from north (124.20m OD) to south (122.65m OD).

A total of 99 archaeological features were recorded: a ring-gully, nine definite, and one possible, post-holes, 72 stake-holes, eleven pits, one hearth, two charcoal-rich surface deposits and two plough furrows. Three areas of naturally outcropping, but burnt, limestone were also observed.

All of the features, with the exception of the plough furrows (or possibly wheel ruts), which were clearly modern, are considered to be contemporaneous and of prehistoric origin.

The major feature was a discontinuous ring-gully with an outer diameter of 10m and an inner diameter of 8.5m, enclosing an area of c. 114m2. The gully was typically 0.7–0.9m wide and 0.2–0.3m deep and had a flattish base. A large number of stake- and post-holes lay within and adjacent to the circuit of the ring-gully and clearly respected the penannular feature. Further pits and a hearth were found nearby.

It is very likely that the ring-gully itself represents a round house. The width and depth of the gully suggest that, rather than being an eavesdrip, it would have functioned as a foundation trench containing earthfast beams. These beams would have held timber uprights, which, in conjunction with internal posts, would have supported a roof. The post-holes for the roof supports may have included five on a south-west/ north-east axis across the centre of the round house. To the rear of the building two post-holes may have been used to hold timber uprights, and three possible ‘doorposts’ may have doubled as roof supports. The posts that stood in these holes were packed with stones, and the timbers would have had diameters of c. 0.3m.

Because an abundance of stake-holes survived, details of the internal layout of the round house could be discerned. All of the stake-holes were concentrated in the south-eastern quadrant of the house, although it is possible that a few additional features were obliterated by the plough scars. The T-shape described by the stake-holes probably indicates that rows of small timbers screened the north-west part of the round house. The alignment of the possible roof supports seemed to define a boundary, and there were few indications of timber uprights north-west of this line.

External features included a hearth and six pits lying 7–12m north of the round house. Two of these pits were filled with heat-cracked limestone and probably represent pot-boiler cooking.

Fifteen artefacts and possible artefacts were recovered. These included chert and flint tools, a possible loom-weight and a very small quantity of cremated bone, which may be human.

Without absolute dating, it is not possible to be certain of the site chronology, as round houses occur from the Neolithic to the Early Christian period. However, it is not unreasonable, given some of the affinities between the house at Knockdomny and several other sites, to suggest the Bronze Age as the most likely date for the construction and use of the settlement with its associated hearth and pits.

If the small quantity (less than 1g) of cremated bone proves to be human, this would pose some intriguing questions. Perhaps the bone was a token incorporation in the construction of the house, or it may have derived from a nearby grave.

Further analysis of the artefacts may help to refine the dating of the structure, and it is hoped that the processing of the environmental samples will produce material suitable for radiocarbon dating. A reconstruction drawing of the house will be produced, as the building type, as well as the fine resolution provided by the stake-holes, is relatively uncommon in the archaeological record.

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