2019:115 - Dún Ailinne, Kildare

A four-week excavation was carried out at Dún Ailinne, Co. Kildare, during June and July of 2019 in the context of an archaeological field school. The goal was to extend the area excavated in 2018, which focused on two ditched enclosures identified through a magnetometer survey. These two features are circular and appear to intersect, the one to the north slightly larger than the one to the south (18m diameter versus 14m diameter respectively). They are located within a large enclosure that rings the summit of the hill (identified through magnetometer survey and explored through excavation in 2016) but are about 50m to the north-north-west of the Iron Age timber structures identified in excavations from the 1960s and 1970s.

In this season, we extended our previous excavation to the south in order to explore the interior of the two enclosures and characterize any associated features, opening an area 12m east-west x 6m. Below the plough soil we encountered two arcs whose position and characteristics suggest they are the continuation of the enclosure encountered in 2018. Due to time constraints we did not excavate the northern enclosure any further but did excavate the arc of the southern enclosure. It ran in a somewhat irregular fashion from the north and curved to the south-south-east (#1 in the attached photo). The ditch was relatively shallow at 0.1-0.15m deep and was generally U-shaped in profile with moderately sloping sides. It was also intermittent, and its apparent width varied widely from 0.3-0.7m. While it is possible that the ditch itself was originally shallow and irregular, these characteristics are more likely the result of disturbance. The presence of at least five plough furrows running north-south through the cutting suggests that this may have been caused at least in part by more recent agricultural activity.

In addition to the enclosures, we also recorded 69 other features, most of them pits, post- and stake-holes. Few of these could be related to each other stratigraphically (except for several stake-holes that lay underneath plough furrows) and most showed no obvious patterning relative to others. Exceptions to this were in the north-east corner of the cutting. There appears to be a circle of post-holes (#2 in the photo) sitting up against the east and north walls. These are of similar diameter and depth and may have formed a structure of some kind about 3.5m in diameter with a gap facing west-south-west (circled in red in the photo). At the same time, there was a depression in this area that was identified as natural, but it is possible that it is the remains of another post-hole, disturbed by ploughing, that would have closed the circle. There is also an arc of post-holes opening to the west (just left of the red number “2” in the image) that appears to join two of the post-holes in the apparent circle. Whether this is something inside the circle (and the “joining” of the two post-holes is an illusion) or whether it is unrelated to it (perhaps earlier or later), or whether the circle itself is a coincidence - are all possibilities to be explored further. Also of interest is a line of three or four post-holes running from the south wall of the cutting to the north-east (#3 in the photo). Whether it continues to the south-west beyond the cutting is uncertain, but it ends at the ditch of the southern enclosure, possibly forming an approach of some kind. Another single post-hole lies opposite to this line, just outside the ditch; this may be the beginning of a second line of post-holes.

A number of artifacts were recovered but few were from the features. Of particular significance were a Neolithic stone axe from the plough soil and an Early Medieval glass bead at the interface between the sod and the plough soil. The axe head (120.3mm L x 58.5mm W x 29.2mm T) is coarse grained, asymmetrical and largely complete, with a bevelled cutting edge and a rounded butt. A small smoothed area next to the cutting edge may suggest it is an adze rather than an axe. Reddening of uncertain origin appears intermittently over the whole surface, particularly concentrated along both edges (thanks to Bernard Gilhooley for his help with this axe). The glass bead has a dark green glass fabric inside a layer of yellow, and there is a white zigzag pattern on a black band on the outside. It is chipped on one face but is otherwise intact. These characteristics allow it to be identified as an imported type, likely deriving from France, that is relatively rare in Ireland. Similar examples have also been recovered from graves in Anglo-Saxon England dating to the 6th century AD (thanks to Mags Mannion for her help with this bead).

In addition to these there were several modern artifacts (including a clay pipe bowl and a coin from 1970), two flint implements, two quartz implements, and two chert flakes. Among the latter were a thumbnail scraper and a bifacially retouched piece, both of flint. Nine samples of calcined bone were recovered, all but two with more than twenty fragments, though the fragments were generally small (10mm or less in size). Two samples of charcoal were also recovered and two samples of possible slag, both for further testing. All artifacts and samples are now in the National Museum and a preliminary report has been submitted to the National Monuments Service.

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