2022:162 - Dowth Hall, Meath

In 2017, a monitoring programme (17E0242) undertaken in advance of the Dowth Hall construction project revealed the presence of a large passage tomb under the lawn terrace that wrapped around the house. The monument’s surviving remains include two disturbed megalithic chambers (Tomb 1, Tomb 2), the remnants of a stone cairn, and part of a perimeter kerb. This bulletin summarises the latest excavation that took place from 18 October 2021 to 19 January 2022, to the west (Areas 1 & 2) and south (Area 3) of Dowth Hall.

Area 1: The Tomb 1 chamber consists of 7 in-situ stones forming 3 stalls to the east (Stall A), north-east (Stall B), and north (Stall C) of the central chamber area, and 5 collapsed structural stones to the west. Stalls A and C and part of the central area were excavated in previous campaigns. Excavation of the remainder of the infill in Stall B revealed a stone floor that sealed and contained bone-rich deposits, as well as acting as a surface for further deposits. A narrow, collapsed orthostat (T1.13) in the southern part of the stall originally would have closed the gap between the stall backstone (T1.4) and southern orthostat (T1.3). The socket for T1.13 contained a hare jawbone, the dating of which should provide a construction date for the chamber. Immediately north of T1.12 (a collapsed orthostat), a small area of disturbed cairn material was excavated, beneath which part of the chamber foundation trench was revealed. It appeared to have been recut, possibly to remove/dislodge the structural stones. Excavation of the buried grass sod layer to the east of the chamber revealed two small pits.

Area 2: Excavation in Area 2 was primarily focused on removal of the buried grass sod layer north of Tomb 2 to assess previously identified potential features and to determine if there were any other pre-cairn features present. A large pit and two smaller pits were excavated in this area. Within the Tomb 2 chamber, excavation was limited to the partial removal of the upper infill along the northern chamber wall. After a gap was noticed along the wall, a small sondage was excavated, which revealed that the souterrain identified in previous campaigns extended as far as, and breached, the chamber. The souterrain roofstone at this breach point is a reused chamber orthostat, which suggests that Tomb 2 was already a ruin when the souterrain was built. The “corbelling” that was constructed on top of the breach point and along the northern chamber wall was presumably contemporary with the souterrain, and perhaps reflects an effort to make it appear that this Neolithic ruin was still relatively intact and had not been disturbed by a souterrain. Despite the significant medieval intervention on the site, contemporaneous artefacts have yet to be found.

Area 3: The main excavation focus in Area 3 was the straightening of the north-north-west-facing section to provide further information on cairn construction. The core cairn material (C395) was almost completely covered by a layer of smaller angular stones (C155/C396). It is not clear if the subsequent cairn layers were deposited soon after as part of the same construction project or if there was a chronological gap between the core cairn material and a later amplification of the monument. A stoney deposit (C324) south of the kerb, which sealed a small stake-hole and a shallow irregular feature, was also excavated. Beneath this, a thin archaeological layer (C275) was left mostly in situ.

The latest excavation at Dowth Hall provided additional information about the construction and use of the passage tomb, as well as the impact of later interventions, particularly in the medieval period. Post-excavation work is ongoing.

Devenish, Dowth Hall, Co. Meath