County: Kilkenny Site name: AR080b, Danesfort
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A032/068; E3541
Author: Richard Jennings, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Wicklow.
Site type: Ring-ditch
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 652817m, N 648147m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.582045, -7.220654
This site was located within the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford road scheme along Contract 2, Phase 4, Knocktopher to Powerstown. A ring-ditch with a diameter of 12.5m was discovered in an open flat field across the existing N10 road from the site of a 13th-century castle/post-medieval turret. To the east of the turret an intact Bronze Age urn was found in 1838 (Graves 1860–1). The ring-ditch was U-shaped, up to 2.6m wide, 0.56–0.75m deep and formed a complete circle. The ditch was filled with a stony basal layer, a charcoal-rich middle layer and an upper layer of silting. Three cremated bone deposits and some animal teeth were found within the charcoal layer. No cremations were found in the interior of the ring-ditch. No evidence survived to indicate whether a ditch or mound were once part of this funerary monument.
Reference
Graves, J. 1860–1 Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Vol. III. New Series, 1860–1, 169.
