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 in the W quadrant of the interior (Walsh and Ficner 2015, 12). The Man-made underground passage consisted of a passage (L 7m; Wth 1.3-1.4m; D 1.23m) with a chamber (L 3.1m; Wth 2.5m; D 1.3m) at the W end and a smaller adjoining square-shaped chamber (dims. 2.7m x 2.4m; D 0.8m) immediately N of the main chamber. The passage was lined by a series of post-holes cut into its base which would have supported a timber lining along the interior of Man-made underground passage walls (ibid.). A shallow bedrock-cutting gully at the interface between the passage and the chamber was interpreted by the excavator as an internal partition wall and perhaps door (ibid.). The northern chamber had a post-hole at the base of each internal angle which would have supported upright posts providing the basis for a sturdy above ground superstructure (ibid.). The excavation of the ringfort interior also revealed two post built structures (WA009-003003-; WA009-003004-), another Man-made underground passage (WA009-003005-) immediately to the S and a sunken structure (WA009-003007-) immediately to the N. 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