2016:320 - Dowth, Meath

As part of the UCD School of Archaeology Research Programme for the Lands at Dowth, a second season of excavation took place at the site of a large mound (ME020-023----) in Dowth townland from 11 July–26 August 2016, under the direction of Clíodhna Ní Lionáin. The excavation strategy was informed by geophysical survey that identified a geomagnetic anomaly around the mound perimeter. A previous season of excavation in 2015 captured a rock-cut ditch that corresponded to this anomaly, and two further trenches (3 & 4) were excavated in 2016 to assess the mound further.

Trench 3 (4m x 21m) was located in the western part of the mound, where the geophysical data indicated a bifurcation in the perimeter ditch and the presence of an oval feature to the west of the mound. The excavation identified a number of agriculturally-related deposits and features, three field drains, a linear feature, a pit, part of the oval feature, the perimeter ditch (C105), a second ditch (C101) c.4m to the east of it, and a terrace/step cut into the bedrock immediately east of ditch C101. Both ditches were recut multiple times, and contained relatively little cultural material, although a Late Roman military-style silver hand pin (4th-6th century AD) was found in the bifurcating ditch (C101).

Trench 4 (4m x 4m) was opened on the summit and revealed the mound to be a natural shale outcrop, as bedrock was reached just under the sod layer. However, a number of features were identified, including four south-east/north-west oriented grooves/possible furrows, a small pit, and a possible cut in the north-west corner of the trench. The fills and deposits in Trench 4 were all relatively sterile Though the excavation confirmed that the mound is natural, it also revealed significant cultural modification of the mound, which probably took place in the early medieval period.

The lack of a significant quantity of settlement material from the ditches indicates that the mound was not a settlement site. However, its location in the centre of an early medieval landscape, surrounded by a number of multivallate enclosures (ME020-075----, ME020-084----, ME020-085----), suggests that it might have been a meeting place of some type or boundary mound, possibly a ferta. The predominance of medieval material in Trench 3 also confirmed that the concentration of prehistoric material found in Trench 2 during the 2015 excavation season was not washed down from the mound. Instead it appears to represent in situ prehistoric activity that took place on the platform in front of the mound.

After two seasons of excavation at ME020-023----, it can be suggested that this natural mound was the focus of activity in at least two periods. During the Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic there was activity immediately south of the mound, associated with possible ephemeral structures rather than more substantial constructions. At least four millennia later, in the early medieval period, the mound was heavily culturally modified, requiring a significant investment of labour, for a non-domestic purpose. Perhaps during both periods it was the fact that the mound is a natural marker in the landscape that drew people to it. Future research at this site could focus on multimethod geophysical survey of the top of the mound, although it seems unlikely that any significant features or deposits will be identified. An area of possible archaeological potential is the platform in front of the southern side of the mound, which appears to have in situ prehistoric activity. Any further excavation of the perimeter ditch is considered unnecessary at this stage, due to the relatively sterile nature of this feature, as confirmed by two seasons of excavation. (Aerial photography by CopterView)

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