Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Garretstown

Located on the S-facing crest of a broad low hill and on the plateau to its N. An enclosure complex consisting of a rectangular enclosure with an internal square feature and attached external ditches (ME038-070----), was identified just to the W of the route of the M3 motorway in a gradiometer survey (00R0064) by GBS Prospection (2001, 10), but the survey was limited to the area W of an existing NNE-SSW field boundary. The road just clipped the E edge of the rectangular enclosure which is preserved on the W side of the motorway. Archaeological centre-line testing (04E0416) by J. Dempsey (2004, 11-23) of the area to the E at Testing Area 2, Contract 2, prior to the construction of the motorway (excavations.ie: 2004:1242) was able to clarify the full archaeological potential of the area within the road-take. This area was completely excavated (E003061) by S. Rathbone as Garretstown 2 from March to December 2006 (excavations.ie 2006:1567; 2007:1317) when an area of 19,000 square metres was opened. Seven ring-ditches and seven kilns were completely excavated together with portions of the rectangular enclosure (ME038-070----) to the W and a rath (ME038-072----) to the E. Three broad periods are represented by the Middle Bronze Age ring-ditches from which no burial evidence was recovered, followed by the late Iron Age rectangular enclosure and by the use of the rath and kilns in the early medieval period. The rath is situated at the crest of the S-facing slope of a broad hill. About one third of the interior (int. diam. c. 37.5m; ext. diam. c. 47.4m) was excavated at the E edge of the excavated area. Its earliest ditch was funnel-shaped (Wth of top c. 3m; D c. 1.9m) and two layers are assigned to it. A sample of a cattle mandible retrieved from the upper fill yielded a C14 date of 647-779 cal. AD (BETA 220138), while the primary cut was dated by OSL to AD 497-707. South of the point where it cuts the S boundary of the field system it is accompanied by two smaller, ditches (Wth 1.7m; max. D 0.9m: Wth c. 1.12m; max. D 0.8m) with sterile fills on its inner side but the relationships of all these ditches are not established. The rath ditch was re-cut (Wth c. 3.4m; D c. 0.9-1.5m), revealing rectangular pits (dims 1.6m x 0.5m; D 0.8m: 1.3m x 0.5m; D 0.7m; 2.9m x 0.8m; D 0.2m) in its base running in the same line as the rath ditch and with sterile fills. One of these pits cut an even earlier pit (dims 3.5m x 2m; max. D 1.3m). (Rathbone 2009, 12-14) West of the rath ditch and N of the S boundary of the large field ditches a gully (Wth c. 0.6m; D 0.2m) extended N (L 80m plus) but its intersection with the boundary ditch was obscured by a kiln (ME038-071014-), although it clearly turned W at this point to form a new S edge of the fields. The N-S gully was replaced by another N-S gully (L 25.5m) that turned E (L 19.5m plus) at its N end and bifurcated at its S end, sending an arm E (Wth c. 1.2m; D c. 0.5m) to be cut by the fosse of the rath and another branch SW to debouch into the S boundary. Another tributary extended E towards the rath (L 13m). (Rathbone 14-16) See the attached plans adapted from Rathbone (2009, figs 14, 15) _1 Site plan; _2 Phase 1; Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 21 April, 2020