2008:654 - Brownstown, Kildare

Excavation of features identified during geophysical prospecting (06R0198) and subsequent testing by Eoin Corcoran (Excavations 2007, No. 797, 07E0239) was undertaken in advance of an extension to a quarry. This site was located in Field 7 of Brownstown Quarry, c. 2.5km to the north-east of Kilcullen, Co. Kildare. The surrounding land is gently undulating and slopes to lower ground to the north-west. The Brownstown pit is currently being quarried to the north-west of the area of archaeological excavation. The Liffey Valley runs to the north of the site with the river being c. 5km from the site, after which it curves to the west where it is only 2km from the site at its closest. Silliot Hill is c. 500m to the south-east and Dún Ailinne c. 4km to the south-west of the site.
The excavations were concentrated in three areas. Area 1, the largest area, contained two enclosures, three possible structures, a cremation and a gravel-extraction pit. Areas 2 and 3 each comprised a kiln and associated features. The features within Area 1 were identified during the geophysical prospecting conducted in 2006 with those in Area 2 discovered during stripping to the south-east of Area 1. The features within Area 3 were identified during the excavation of five test-trenches to investigate anomalous readings identified in the geophysical prospecting.
The earliest occupation of the site can be seen to begin in the prehistoric period, with several possible structures and a cremation located within Area 1. One of the structures was formed by three concentric, circular slot-trenches, with the other two formed by very shallow slot-trenches. A sherd of prehistoric pottery from the cereal-drying kiln and an associated feature in Area 3 shows further prehistoric activity. Both kilns were figure-of-eight types, with the kiln from Area 2 enclosed by a shallow slot-trench. However no definitive date has yet been attributed to either kiln.
The smaller of the two enclosures, which was the earlier of the two, was truncated by the larger enclosure. The earlier enclosure had a V-shaped curvilinear ditch, which enclosed a subcircular area 25m by 20m (internally). Near to the termini it became shallower and narrower over a distance of c. 6m and seems to be a conscious design feature mirrored in the larger enclosure ditch. Although the western terminus of the earlier enclosure was truncated, the surviving morphology suggests that only the extreme tip was truncated (i.e. the cut had narrowed considerably), resulting in an opening of a maximum of 23m. With both the shallow nature of the termini and the large opening, the earlier enclosure ditch was unlikely to have been for solely defensive purposes and may have been part of a wider land division. Several curvilinear features were clear alterations made to the earlier enclosure.
The later enclosure was formed by a series of ditches that enclosed a subrectangular area 44m east–west by 34m. The ‘main’ ditch was present along the length of the enclosure; however, in the area where the later enclosure truncated the earlier, it was defined by two additional ditches much shallower, though wider, than the main cut at the east. The relationships between these features suggest that one was contemporary with the ‘main’ ditch with the other, in places, truncated by it. The termini of the later enclosure were similar to that of the earlier. A number of early medieval finds were recovered from the fills of both enclosures, which enabled a provisional date for both the enclosures. These finds included several knives and pins, a pair of scissors/shears and a socketed longbone point.
The remaining linear features were probably either field boundaries or drainage channels, which seem to be earlier than the later enclosure and are probably remnants of field systems connected to and in use during the occupation of the early enclosure. The latest occupation of the site dated to the post-medieval and early modern period with a large gravel-extraction pit; a precursor to the use of the area as a sand and gravel quarry today. The site was situated within an archaeologically rich landscape, and seems to underline the archaeological remains excavated to date within the quarry boundaries. These comprise prehistoric activity, of both occupational and ritual function, and extensive medieval activity, seen as circular or subcircular enclosures with a number of enigmatic linear features extending throughout the area.