County: Meath Site name: KILLEEN: Killeen Castle (Site D Annexe)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: ME038-012 Licence number: 05E0949
Author: Christine Baker, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Field system
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 693113m, N 755159m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.538120, -6.595262
Site D Annexe was located between Sites B (complex enclosure, see No. 1196, Excavations 2005) and D (double enclosure, see No. 1199, Excavations 2005), on the high ridge towards the northern limit of Killeen Demesne; the surrounding landscape consists of gently sloping pasture. It encompassed an area 50m north–south by 130m. A total of 90 features were identified, the majority consisting of interlinking ditches and drains. Six kilns were identified, including two corn-drying kilns. A large ditch appeared to form an enclosing element, with a concentration of activity within it. It appeared interlinked with field divisions. The majority of features were cut into subsoil, indicating a relative contemporaneity but precluding an analysis of stratigraphic relationships. Definitive dating will have to await radiocarbon analysis; however, its proximity to Sites B and D indicate an early medieval date.
27 Merrion Square, Dublin 2
