2008:1328 - KINNEGAD, Westmeath

Excavation was carried out at the site of WM027–070, classified as a ringfort, in the townland of Kinnegad during a six-week period in April and May 2008. The work was undertaken in advance of a development which will entail the construction of retail and commercial hardware outlets and a carpark. As the development encompasses the entire site of WM027–070, the work was commissioned to ascertain the nature and extent of the surviving portion of the site. The site lies c. 0.5km south of Kinnegad in a greenfield plot between the new N6 and the older N4. The site was situated on relatively flat ground covered by coarse grass. There were no surface traces of the ringfort apart from a small decline in the eastern and south-eastern areas of the field.

A programme of topsoil-stripping was conducted at the site in January 2008. This revealed the enclosure WM027–070. The programme of stripping noted that there was a considerable depth of redeposited boulder clay overlying the site, masking its original topography and situation. This material had been dumped in the area during the construction of the M4 motorway nearby when the site was used as a compound. In the south-eastern and eastern sides of the site, the depth of this redeposited material measured c. 1m deep, whilst in the northern, western and central areas it was c. 0.4m deep. A mid-brown humic topsoil (c. 0.1m deep) was noted below this redeposited boulder clay. This layer comprised the original ground surface of the field. Underlying this was c. 0.2m of mid- to light-brown silty clay with occasional small stones, which overlay the natural site boulder clay. The presence of a significant deposit of alluvial clay indicated that either a small lake or a river was present to the east of the ringfort. The ringfort enclosing element and a number of internal features were noted during topsoil-stripping.

During the second phase of works these features were fully excavated. A well-defined enclosing ditch was recorded on all sides of the monument with the entrance to the enclosure present to the north-east. It was represented by a causeway in the ditch were the enclosing ditch terminated. This gap measured 3.5m south-east/north-west and 3m wide. The entrance had a stony texture, but this did not appear to be a metalled surface because the stones were not worn or cobble-like in appearance. Three bowl furnaces were excavated; these features along with other pits and spreads contained an abundance of iron slag and charcoal suggesting metalworking activity at the site.

There were no obvious internal domestic structures within the enclosure, although a large subrectangular-shaped cut to the west of the site along the edge of the ditch may have been a possible house site. A number of features were noted cut into the natural boulder clay and the natural gley (which occurs in the southeast area of the south); the most significant of these was the site perimeter ditch. It encompassed the whole site. The enclosing ditch was roughly circular in plan, with the north-north-west area of the site a more gradual curve than the rest of the ditch. The external dimensions of the ditch were 34.45m (southwest/north-east) by 30.05m. The internal dimensions were 30.3m south-west/north-east by 24.45m. The ditch measured a maximum 3.3m wide in the southeastern area of the site and 1.75m wide in the southwest.

The ringfort was univallate, consisting of a single enclosing ditch or fosse but with no further enclosing ditches. There was also no evidence of an inner bank accompanying the ditch. It may have been destroyed by recent agricultural activity, as evidenced by the furrows which traverse the site. It may have been disturbed during the construction of the nearby M4 motorway when the entire field was covered by c. 1m deep of redeposited boulder clay and modern construction debris.

The cut of the ditch C6 was generally U-shaped and flat-bottomed in profile. In the north-west area of the site, the ditch was V-shaped in profile and narrowed considerably at the base to a minimum width of 0.3m; in the east it was much wider and flatter, ranging up to 1m wide. The depth of the ditch varied considerably: in the south-west it measured 0.85m, and this increased gradually as the ditch curved eastwards to a maximum depth of 1.28m. There were several fills within the enclosing ditch. The upper fill of the ditch was moderately compact light to mid-sandy silt with small stones. This fill was present in all areas of the ditch, except the northeastern area which was covered by a heavily compacted deposit of silt overlying the ditch. Two lithic debitage fragments were found in this ditch fill as well as occasional modern finds, such as pottery and glass sherds. There was a marked increase in the occurring in the eastern ditch segments. These fills differed from those in the north and west of the ditch; the latter were mainly brown silty clays with moderate stone inclusions. The natural substrate changed to light to dark-grey silty gley in the eastern area of the site, the fills in this area were very similar in colour and composition to this surrounding substrate. Occasional preserved wood and mollusc shells were found in these ditch fills. The basal fill of the ditch remained consistent in the eastern area of the site and consisted of mid- to dark-yellowish-grey silty sandy clay with moderate medium to large sub-angular stone inclusions. The basal fill in the west, north-west and south-west of the site consisted of light to mid-brownish-grey sandy silty clay, with moderate to frequent medium to small sub-angular stone inclusions. In the north-eastern area of the ditch a deposit of medium-sized sub-rounded stones occurred. These stones were found in the southern ditch terminal and along the outer edge of the ditch. This stone deposit measured c. 3.5m north–south, 1m wide and 0.4m deep. This deposit may have been the remnants of a collapsed wall or revetment feature. Some preserved unworked wood was found in association with these stones.

During the course of excavation the surrounding fields were tested using a mechanical machine equipped with a grading bucket. A total of 31 test-trenches were excavated. Despite extensive testing only two archaeological features were identified. Both features occurred in Trench 24 and in close proximity to one another. They consisted of shallow pits containing charcoal flecks and heat-affected soil. An area 7m by 9m wide was opened around the features and no further features were identified. Because these features occurred as isolated pits, both were fully excavated.