What is recorded here

Clear boundary ditches crossed the low hill in Garretstown, cutting through older earthworks and forcing later people to dig again and again. Charcoal and pottery marked repeated changes from before Christ to the high medieval period, suggesting the land stayed alive under shifting rules. The ditches never fully closed, leaving gaps where imagination can enter. They are not a forgotten shape but a living record of negotiation, measurement and memory.

Located on the S-facing crest of a broad low hill and on the plateau to its N. Two E-W boundary ditches, placed c. 25-43m apart, cross the excavated area, converging at E and W but not meeting. They would seem to relate primarily to the rectangular enclosure to the W of the excavated area and to have been established in sections. The S boundary cuts the ring-ditch (ME038-071001-) and its E end is cut by the fosse of the rath (ME038-072----), while the N ditch truncates the ring-ditches (ME038-071004-) and (ME038-071005-) and connects with the fosse of the rath, although that sequence has not been fully resolved. The original S ditch (L 78m plus; max. Wth 4m; D c. 1.4m) was dated by OSL to 202-413 AD. It was re-cut three times, and a sherd of E-ware, dated to the sixth or seventh centuries AD, was recovered from its second re-cut, while a sherd of locally made high medieval pottery dating to the thirteenth or fourteenth century was recorded from the final re-cutting. The N ditch (L c. 104m; Wth c. 2.2m; D c. 0.8m) had two sterile fills, but a lens of charcoal in the upper fill yielded a C14 date of 357-50 cal. BC (BETA 246979), while an OSL date of 2-213 AD was provided by the topmost fill, from which a sherd of E-ware was also recovered. It appears to have cut the long but slight N-S gullies associated with the rath. From the SW edge of the excavation a V-shaped ditch (L 40m; max. Wth 2.4m; max. D 0.6m) arcs NE towards the S boundary but stops 1m from it. Its single fill was largely sterile, but a lens of charcoal-rich material near its base yielded a C14 date of 668-870 cal. AD (BETA 246980). This was the second iteration of the ditch and its earlier version produced a C14 date of 605-769 cal. AD (BETA 246981) and cut two rectangular pits in its base. One of the pits (dims 4.7m x 1.8m; D 0.6m) with rounded corners was cut through bedrock. It was aligned with the later ditch but was filled with sterile clay. Also, from the NW edge of the excavation a V-shaped ditch (L 40m; max. Wth c. 2m; max. D 1m) arcs SE towards the N boundary and connects with it. Animal bone from the top fill produced a C14 date of 695-967 cal. AD (BETA 246978). (Rathbone 2009, 8-12) See the attached plans adapted from Rathbone (2009, figs 14, 15) _1 Site plan; _5; Interpretive plan; Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 21 April 2022

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