2017:561 - Oldtown, Dublin

Three pits were revealed during monitoring in the vicinity of the new Oldtown GAA pitch and were subsequently excavated over three days. The largest of the three was a simple oval cereal-drying kiln, oriented north-east/south-west and measuring 1.8m x 0.94m x 0.43m deep. The kiln contained eight separate fills, which can be summarised as follows from bottom to top: initial silting in the base, followed by a deposit of redeposited natural subsoil, a charred layer, another layer of redeposited natural subsoil, a layer of scorched soil and a final upper fill unrelated to activities within the kiln.

The charred layer contained abundant charcoal, occasional charred seeds and patches of burnt clay and either represents a phase of use of the kiln or possibly the accidental destruction of the kiln by burning. Charcoal from this fill was exclusively willow and approximately 80% of it was classified as young branch wood, suggesting that this material may have been the burnt remains of wattling or some component of the internal kiln furniture. A small quantity of charred cereal was also recovered and included hulled barley, wheat and emmer/spelt type wheat. The emmer/spelt was selected for radiocarbon dating and returned a date range of 1997+/-43 BP which was calibrated to BC 149 – 118 AD (2 sigma, UBA 26086), placing this activity in the middle Iron Age. A layer of redeposited natural subsoil and a layer of compact oxidised soil in the upper part of the kiln could represent part of the superstructure, which entered the kiln after it had gone out of use.

Two other shallow pits in the immediate vicinity of the kiln also contained charred deposits and are likely to have been associated with, or at least contemporary with the kiln.

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