2011:471 - MOUND OF THE HOSTAGES, HILL OF TARA, CASTLEBOY, Meath

Excavations were conducted on the Mound of the Hostages as part of conservation works carried out by the OPW in conjunction with the National Monuments Service. A triangular cutting, 10m by 10m by 14.14m, was excavated by hand through the mound, centring on the entrance to the passage tomb. An additional cutting measuring 7m by 2m was made to the east of the mound. Excavations revealed the composition of the earthen mound and the cairn that were reconstructed after the final phase of archaeological excavations undertaken by UCD in 1959.

The exterior of the passage tomb was constructed of drystone walling, six courses high. There were two outer supporting walls against the external eastern edge of the southern wall and abutting the rear of the entrance stone. The roof of the tomb was sealed with a layer of mortar, although this did not cover the full extent of the capstone at the rear of the passage. A deposit of stone resembling cairn material overlay the mortared roof, but the main body of the cairn did not reach this height. The cairn was constructed of randomly laid stone of varying size. The eastern edge of the cairn had been faced and three courses of stone were revealed here.

The cairn was covered by c. 1.1–1.2m of earthen mound, within which three deposits were identified. The lower deposit was compact yellow/orange clay that was a maximum of 0.4m deep. It was overlain by compact dark grey clay, c. 0.6m deep. The upper mound material was moderately compact and comprised topsoil mixed with yellow subsoil. Chicken-wire and wider mesh had been used in an attempt to stabilise the upper mound material. The wire was held in place by hooked iron pegs.

A series of wooden pegs were revealed around the entrance to the tomb. These had been used during maintenance works, to peg additional sods to the mound in an attempt to prevent further slippage and erosion at this location. Excavation revealed that as much as 0.5m of slumped earth had built up around the base of the portal stones at the entranceway. A large flagstone was uncovered at the entrance to the tomb. This had presumably been put in place after completion of the excavations. Three successive levels of gravel path leading to the entrance were also later additions.

In the rectangular cutting excavated to the east of the mound, sod was removed over redeposited subsoil that was over 0.4m deep. Subsoil was not revealed since the consolidation works being carried out here did not require a great depth of excavation. An archaeological deposit was encountered in two test pits excavated in this cutting. This compact mid-grey-brown silty clay had occasional flecks of burnt bone. It lay between 0.4m and 0.6m below existing ground level; it was recorded but not excavated and remains in situ.

The only archaeological finds were a broken lithic and a fragment of cremated bone, both of which came from the mound material and were clearly ex situ. These probably represent residual pieces from the excavations conducted in the 1950s. The other finds unearthed during excavation were modern coins and bottle glass from the upper mound material.

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