2015:171 - Tlachtga, The Hill of Ward, Wardstown, Meath

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Meath Site name: Tlachtga, The Hill of Ward, Wardstown

Sites and Monuments Record No.: ME030-001--- Licence number: E004474

Author: Caitríona Moore & Stephen Davis

Site type: Hilltop enclosure, prehistoric/early medieval

Period/Dating:

ITM: E 673526m, N 764566m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.625738, -6.888486

The 2015 season of excavation at Tlachtga, The Hill of Ward was the second season of excavation at the site, jointly funded by the Royal Irish Academy, Meath County Council and The Office of Public Works. The project was led by Dr Stephen Davis of UCD School of Archaeology, directed by Caitríona Moore.
The large quadrivallate ringfort Tlachtga (ME030-001---) is located on the Hill of Ward, Co. Meath. Geophysical and LiDAR survey in the vicinity of the site have identified several previously unrecorded monuments, amongst which are a very large closely-spaced trivallate enclosure, partially underlying the present upstanding monument, and a small enclosure to the south, partially intercut with the present monument. In 2015 two trenches were excavated to investigate these monuments.
Trench 4 measured 30m x 5m and was located to the south-east of the upstanding monument placed to extend from outside the third ditch section through to the interior of the monument, stopping short of the present monument of Tlachtga. Removal of sod and topsoil revealed a small ground stone axe and finds of chert, flint, metal and ceramic.
At the southern end of Trench 4 adjacent to the limit of excavation was an oval pit (L 1.3m; W 0.87m; D 0.2-25 m) possibly for charcoal production or grain drying. Around the base and sides of the pit the natural clay was coloured red/yellow from burning at high temperature. The uppermost fill of the pit consisted of compact clay with small stones.
Approximately 2m north of this was the outermost ditch of the trivallate enclosure. Cut into limestone bedrock, this had a V-shaped profile, 0.6m wide at the base widening to 2.4m at the top. It was quite shallow measuring 0.9m deep and as such is unlikely to have been defensive, constructed perhaps for display. The primary fill comprised pieces of shattered limestone in a matrix of loose sandy clay. This was higher on the south-eastern side indicating the direction of tip. A human lower mandible fragment was recovered from the basal fill and possible lithics and pieces of worked bone were found in all fills. South of the outer ditch and extending beyond the limits of excavation was a metalled surface covering an area of L 1.4m min.; W 1m min.; D 0.02-0.1m.
Towards the centre of Trench 4 was the middle ditch of the trivallate enclosure. This lay 7.01m north of the outer ditch and was orientated east-south-east/west-north-west. It was a maximum of 1.13m deep and had an uneven V-shaped profile as the south-eastern edge was cut into the bedrock at c. 45° while the opposite north-western side was a very gradual slope at 15-20°, taking advantage of natural planes within the bedrock. The primary fill of the ditch comprised soft, silty clay with frequent pieces of shattered limestone and occasional flecks of charcoal and pieces of animal bone. This was probably deliberately backfilled bank material and included a bone spindle whorl.
This ditch was subject to two phases of re-cutting, both of which followed its orientation and truncated the primary fill. Sealing the fills of the middle ditch was a deposit of soft silt with occasional flecks of charcoal and pieces of animal bone. Located on the upper north-eastern edge of the middle ditch was a small (L 0.6m; W 0.55m; D 0.1m) metalled surface. A seemingly isolated feature, this may have been truncated by an adjacent furrow.
The inner ditch of the trivallate enclosure lay 4.03m north of the middle ditch. It comprised a very large rock-cut ditch with a roughly U-shaped profile measuring 1.44-2.16m wide at the base increasing to 3.4m at the top, and 1.26m deep. The sides were very steep and the base was flat but sloped north-south. For reasons of health and safety two 1m-wide baulks were left in situ at each edge of the excavation. Several localised deposits of stony clay along the ditch edges probably represent small slumps of bank material while the basal fill of silty clay was probably the result of siltation. The primary fill of the ditch was a deep deposit of grey/brown silty clay with very frequent inclusions of shattered stone. Finds included a single human molar, possibly worked flint and animal bone. Like that of the middle and probably also the outer ditch, this fill is likely to be redeposited bank material.
The inner ditch was subject to one episode of re-cutting along its inner edge which truncated the stony fill. It is likely that this re-cut is contemporary with at least one of those of the middle ditch. The recovery of a fragment of a human mandible and a molar from the outer and inner ditches may indicate votive aspect to these deposits as seen elsewhere in Iron Age ditches (Roche 2002, 59).
Sealing the fills was a layer of soft silty clay with frequent pieces of shattered sandstone, charcoal and animal bone. This was truncated by a small circular pit filled with dark grey clayey silt with frequent inclusions of charcoal, occasional flecks of stone and small stones including limestone and sandstone, and burnt bone. The pit and the deposit beneath it were overlain by a similar deposit of soft silty clay which produced a fragment of a possible lignite bracelet, a metal object and pieces of possible worked stone. Above this was the uppermost fill of the ditch comprising mid-brown/grey silty clay with occasional small stones, flecks of charcoal and a moderate amount of animal bone. These fills and the small pit appear to post-date the use of the ditch and represent different activity in this part of the site.
Partially overlying the upper ditch fill was an irregularly shaped but well-defined metalled surface (L 3.05m; W 1.65m; D 0.05m). This was one of three metalled surfaces in Trench 4 (see above) suggesting that perhaps metalling was once more extensive.

A staggered line of stake-holes along the inner edge of the ditch suggests the presence of a wattle wall. They were cut into the bedrock and arranged in a staggered pattern of regularly spaced pairs set 0.22m apart. On the opposite side of the ditch, at the top of the inner edge, were two post-holes 0.15 m apart, both filled with grey/brown silty clay.

Trench 5 measured 7.8m x 5m and was orientated north-north-east/south-south-west, placed to investigate the junction of the small southern enclosure and the second from outermost bank and ditch of the upstanding monument of Tlachtga. It established conclusively that the ditch of the southern enclosure predates that of the monument. Removal of sod and topsoil in Trench 5 produced finds of stone and ceramic. Due to time constraints two large box-sections were excavated at each side of the trench leaving a central baulk. These were numbered Sondage 1 and Sondage 2 and lay respectively to the east and west sides of the trench. The northern half of Trench 5 was covered with collapsed bank material comprising stone and soil which covered much of the area where the two ditches intersected. At the southern end, bedrock was exposed, covered in places by a deposit of clay mixed with charcoal and flecks of burnt bone.

Running north-north-west/south-south-east across Trench 5 was the ditch of the southern enclosure. This was very heavily truncated by the later ditch of the upstanding monument and only a small portion of its southern edge remained. This was cut into the bedrock with an almost vertical edge and a flat base. Only small amounts of two clay fills remained, the earliest of which lay directly against the rock-cut face and base of the ditch in the south-easternmost corner of Sondage 1. A large fragment of animal bone was found within this deposit, lying directly on the base of the ditch. This mirrors the pattern of deposition seen here in 2014 and demonstrates that placing of animal bone at the base of the ditch was a deliberate act of deposition. Above this deposit was a second thin clay layer over which was a deposit of large angular pieces of shale and limestone in a silty matrix. This only occurred in the south-easternmost corner of Sondage 1, where it was truncated by the later ditch, but also extended over an area of bedrock outside the southern enclosure ditch. This is likely to be rock extracted during the original excavation which may have formed an adjacent bank.

Orientated south-east/north-west across Trench 5 was the penultimate ditch of the upstanding monument which measured 4m wide by 0.64-0.74m deep. It truncated the fills of the southern enclosure but more or less followed the line of the earlier ditch, removing much of the outer edge but respecting the inner edge. The fills of this ditch were quite uniform containing large amounts of stone and all probably represent episodes of bank collapse. This would account for their homogeneity and explain why the boundaries between them were so diffuse. Finds from these fills included possible lithics and pieces of worked bone. The earliest fill contained a significant amount of animal bone and within Sondage 1 several large fragments were found lying, seemingly placed, on the rock base of the ditch, echoing the deposition of bone within the southern enclosure. The radiocarbon dates obtained in 2014 for these two ditches fall within the same 2-sigma range of 390–540 AD (ibid.), indicating a maximum of a 150-year gap between the construction of the southern enclosure and the second from outermost Tlachtga ditch. It seems probable that those who built the latter were aware of the former.

Truncating the upper fill of the Tlachtga ditch was an irregular cut measuring L 3m min; W 1.1m min.; D 0.12m, within which was a stony deposit. This formed a base, possibly a crude platform, for a small hearth within which were three layers of charcoal and burnt clay with a combined depth of 0.17m. The presence of the small pit and the two stake-holes all sealed by the uppermost hearth layer suggests it had several phases of activity; however, these could have occurred in quite rapid succession and with an overall depth of only 0.17m, it seems unlikely that it was in use for a very significant length of time. The recovery of a possible crucible fragment and two items of metal from this feature suggests it may have been industrial in nature. Sealing the upper fill of the hearth was a deposit of loose silty clay with charcoal, bone and occasional stones which underlay the topsoil interface.

At the time of writing post-excavation work and research is still ongoing.

Reference:

Roche, H. 2002. Excavations at Ráith na Ríg, Tara, Co. Meath. In Discovery Programme Reports No. 6, 19-127.

 

UCD School of Archaeology