Enclosure in Moathill

Situated at the base of the W-facing slope of the ridge that is dominated by the motte (ME025-023001-) and c. 30-80m W of it. A geophysical survey (06R0004) by Nicholls and Shiel (2006) combined with archaeological testing (06E0024) by Donald Murphy (2006) on a route of the Navan inner relief road and a slip road identified three concentrations of archaeological features which would require full excavation. This area was completely excavated within the road-take by S. Halliday (2009) under the original testing licence (06E0024) from April to June 2006 as Site 3 and it consisted of a D-shaped enclosure (ME025-084----) a ring-ditch (ME025-084001-), two structures and two cereal-drying kilns (ME025-084002-) (excavations.ie 2006:1612), but its features are closely connected with the structures of Sites 1 and 2 further N. The D-shaped enclosure (dims c. 40m NE-SW; c. 25m NW-SE) is only partly within the excavated area of Site 3, and its extremities at NE and SW survive unexcavated. The straight side is at NW but it is not absolutely certain which of an amalgam of NE-SW ditches that lie to the W of its curved E ditch (Wth 1.4-1.6m; D 0.4-1.06m) forms this side of the enclosure. The most probable (Wth 0.64-1.52m; D 0.64-0.9m) yielded a radiocarbon date of 570-649 cal. AD (UBA-9921), but a sample from the curved ditch provided a C14 date of 770-898 or 920-946 (UBA 9929). It is unlikely that the dated NW ditch was part of the enclosure combined with the curved ditch which is a late feature of this early medieval landscape. No entrance is identified for this enclosure. There is a structure within the enclosure that is not stratigraphically connected with any of its features, and another structure c. 20m outside it to the E that is also probably contemporary. The internal feature is an arc of a slot-trench (L 7.54m; Wth 0.4-0.57m; D 0.09-0.18m) that is open to the S. Just to its S is another parallel slot-trench (L 8.25m; Wth 0.22-0.26m; D 0.06-0.12m) is also open to the S. No post-holes are associated with them and it is not clear whether they formed closed structures that have eroded on the S side or merely supported wind-breaks. The severely truncated remains of the other structure is just 8m N of the kilns. It is a subcircular area (int. dims 3.8m x 2.9m) defined by a slot-trench (Wth 0.1-0.37m; D 0.01-0.13m) that has an entrance gap (Wth 0.85m) at SE. There were no post-holes within the slot-trench which had traces of iron-panning around its edges and it may have supported wicker hurdles. (Giacometti 2011; Halliday 2009, 40-1, 47-8) ) See the attached images from Giacometti (2007, fig. 2) _01 Sites 1-3; from Halliday (2009, figs 25, 17) _02, _03 Enclosure Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 5 April, 2023 Giacometti, A. 2007 Site 1. Navan Inner Relief Road. Licence: 06E0274. Final unpublished report, Arch-Tech Giacometti, A. 2011 Exploring domestic and non-domestic space in an Early Medieval Landscape at Navan Moat, Co. Meath Ríocht na Mídhe, 22, 43-59. Halliday, S. 2009 Navan Inner Relief Road Scheme, Sites 2 & 3. Licence: 06E0024. Final Excavation Report, Unpublished, Arch Tech