Kiln in Baysrath (kells By.)

On a S-facing slope in pasture. Excavated in 2006-7 in advance of the N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford Road Improvement Scheme. Excavation licence no. 2517, AR053-4 Area A-F. A range of kilns (19 in all) forming one element of a cluster of monuments found in close proximity to each other in an area c. 1.8ha with dates ranging from the Late Neolithic to the early medieval period. The kilns which were present all across the excavated area produced large quantities of cereal remains, indicating that they are likely to have been used in the drying of cereals, perhaps prior to storage or as part of crop-processing activities to separate grains from chaff. Different types of kiln structures appear to have been in use from the Iron Age to the Early Medieval period including keyhole-shaped, figure of eight and T-shaped examples. Although some kiln types appear to have been constructed during both the Iron Age and Early Medieval period, differences can be detected in the types of cereals being processed. (Channing 2009, 255-6, no. 1003; 2010a, 234, no. 881; 2010b) Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 25 September 2013