Man-made underground passage in Knockhouse Lower

Within a ringfort (WA009-003001-) situated on a gentle N-facing slope. The ringfort was identified as a cropmark on an aerial photograph (OSAP, 9859-95, 24) and was fully excavated in 2015 in advance of a development following the re-zoning of the land for industrial use (Walsh and Ficner 2015). The excavation revealed a Man-made underground passage (dims. L 10m E-W; Wth c. 3.5m; D 1.7m) in the SW quadrant of the interior (Walsh and Ficner 2015, 12). The Man-made underground passage was dug into the underlying bedrock (ibid.). There was a stone structure at the E end defining a ‘creep’ into a lower passage which led to a wider, bowl-shaped chamber at the W end (ibid.). This chamber was built of drystone walls consisting of large upright stones, 1-2 courses high, topped with at least three lintels, two of which survived in situ (ibid.). A number of deep post-holes cut the base of the passage, suggesting there was a wooden superstructure within the Man-made underground passage complementing the stone structure (ibid.). A glass bead was recovered from a charcoal-rich deposit in the floor level of the ‘creep’ (ibid.). The excavation of the ringfort interior also revealed two post built structures (WA009-003003-; WA009-003003-), another Man-made underground passage (WA009-003006-) and a sunken structure (WA009-003007-). The finds found during the excavation suggest that the ringfort dates to the 8th-10th centuries AD. (Walsh and Ficner 2015) Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 13 January 2016