County: Kildare Site name: BALLYBURN UPPER
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 09E0193
Author: Nial O’Neill, Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd, Unit 25, Liosbaun Industrial Estate, Tuam Road, Galway.
Site type: Two enclosures, numerous associated features and deposits plus a possible structure
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 676760m, N 681911m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.882605, -6.859533
Non-invasive testing was conducted in April 2009 on behalf of Dan Morrissey (Ireland) Ltd and the Irish Concrete Federation as part of Phase 2 works for a new quarry site in Ballyburn Upper, Co. Kildare.
A geophysical survey revealed the presence of two circular enclosures on the summit and easterly slope of a low hill with commanding views of the surrounding countryside. A rectangular enclosure or possible field system was also suggested by the geophysical survey to the north-west of the enclosures. The first enclosure had two concentric ditches with a probable internal bank immediately inside the inner ditch. No bank was detected for the other ditch. The inner ditch enclosed a space 40m in diameter, while the outer ditch enclosed a space 85m in diameter. The inner ditch was 6m wide, while the outer ditch was 3.5–4m wide. A deposit of heat-shattered stones in a matrix of charcoal-rich sandy silt c. 12m in diameter was uncovered in the interior of the inner enclosure, while numerous pits and probable post-holes were also recorded. The second enclosure was located 5–10m north-west of the first. It enclosed a space 46m in diameter with the ditch 2m in width. Only two possible features (probable pits) were found in or near this enclosure. Two trenches to the south of these enclosures revealed two pits and a linear feature, while the second revealed a curvilinear alignment of four probable post-holes with a firespot (hearth?) inside this curve and may represent a structure.
These enclosures appeared to represent ringforts and may be related to the early medieval activity to their north recorded under excavation licence 09E0128 (see No. 469 above).
