2006:1172 - KILLEANY (1), Laois

This site was located within Contract 3 of the proposed M7 Portlaoise to Castletown/M8 Portlaoise to Cullahill motorway scheme and was identified during advance testing by the writer in April 2005 (Excavations 2005, No. 891, A015/054). It was excavated on behalf of Laois County Council, funded by the National Roads Authority, between December 2005 and May 2006.

The site comprised the remains of a roughly circular ditched enclosure, which would have measured c. 150m in diameter. The enclosure was established around a low hill roughly 150m north-east of the River Gully. About one-third of the enclosure, including most of the south-east quadrant, was located directly along the proposed line of the new road and was subsequently excavated. Geophysical survey to determine the site’s full extent is proposed for the remaining two-thirds of the site, located on the northern side of the road-take.

The main enclosure ditch had an overall length within the limits of the excavation of 185m. It was typically 3m wide by around 1.5m deep. The ditch was filled with deposits of grey/brown sandy clay or sandy silt material. There was a 4m-wide break roughly midway along its excavated length, representing the remains of a south-east-facing entrance to the enclosure. It is very likely that clay and stone spoil derived from the digging of the ditch was used to build an earthen bank along its inside edge. However, no trace of the embankment survived and it was probably levelled and backfilled into the ditch at an unknown time following the end of occupation of the site. The remains of a single individual, a juvenile of 11–12 years of age, with indicators in the bone of three episodes of disease or illness, were found in the ditch fill on the eastern side of the entrance. Radiocarbon dating of the bone will hopefully give some idea of how long the monument survived as an earthwork before it was finally levelled.

A smaller ditched inner enclosure was located at the highest point on the site, roughly the centre of the entire enclosure area. The ditch had an excavated length within the site limits of c. 35m and was up to 1m wide by 0.5m deep. The enclosure had a spiral, or overlapping, south-east-facing entrance. The east side of the ditch was truncated by a very large pit, which produced an iron ploughshare and a bronze stick-pin with ring-and-dot decoration. This inner area functioned as a burial-ground. The remains of 71 individuals were recorded and removed during the course of the excavation. The individuals were placed in shallow unlined graves aligned east–west in a manner characteristic of an early medieval cemetery. Although the skeletal remains were generally without grave goods, a young adult female was buried with a spectacular necklace composed of 44 perforated animal bone discs, dating probably from the 6th century. A single bone bead was found with the remains of an infant and a corroded iron ring with another individual.

Possibly the earliest feature on the site was a linear ditch, aligned north-west/south-east, with an excavated length of 75m. This was cut by the main enclosure ditch but terminated just short of the burial enclosure. The linear feature was intersected from the north by an associated ditch, aligned north–south, with an excavated length of c. 27m.

Many of the most significant features were located towards the eastern edge of the enclosure. These included a series of kilns, probably used for cereal drying, including a large drystone-built example. Two radiocarbon dates have been obtained from ash charcoal from the primary fill in the flue of an unlined keyhole-shaped kiln, measuring 5.8m long by 3.4m and 1.07m deep (cal ad 660–810, 2 sigma, cal 1280–1140 bp; cal ad 840–860, 2 sigma, cal 1110–1100 bp).

The curvilinear remains of a shallow slot-trench, c. 5m in external diameter, were located at the northern end of the series of kilns, which may be contemporary with a similar feature found at Killeany 2, located to the north-east (see No. 1173, Excavations 2006).

The scale of the site, together with the nature of the burials, suggests that the Killeany enclosure may represent the remains of a large non-ringfort settlement of early medieval date. In general terms, it appears the foundation of the site may date from the 6th century, with occupation continuing into the 9th century.

Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth