Enclosure in Roestown (ratoath By.)

While the large enclosure, rath and burial ground are preserved under introduced soil in a green area all the available external area was excavated (15E0125) under the direction of S. McGlade in 2018-19 (excavatioins.ie 2019:474). The N annexe proved to have a complex history with several phases of sub-division and use for cereal-drying kilns followed by a phase of intensive metalworking towards the end of its period of use as a defined space. Eight furnace bottoms and a further eight possible examples were recorded, while over a tonne of metallurgical waste was recovered. A rectangular structure associated with these can be regarded as a forge, and a large anvil stone had been retrieved from the topsoil in the vicinity during the initial monitoring. Seven corn-drying kilns are dispersed through the annexe, but near its final abandonment its NW angle became a focus for six intercutting cereal-drying kilns. The junction with the fosse of the large enclosure could not be fully examined but the last iteration of the circular enclosure cut the fill of the annexe ditch at W while the last fills of the annexe ditch at E cut the upper fills of the enclosure ditch. The N enclosure (int. dims c. 34-37m N-S; c. 32m E-W) was defined by its earliest ditch (Wth 4m) at W that was quite shallow (D 0.1m) at its outer edge and partly rock-cut but there was a deeper re-cut (Wth 1.3m; D 0.45m) on the inner side. Its first iteration cut the fosse of the large enclosure, and its final fill was in turn cut by a re-cut of that ditch. It extended almost as far as the large WNW-ESE boundary ditch but a gap (Wth c. 5m) at its N end is the only original causeway entrance to the annexe. The ditch was used for the disposal of slag during the metalworking phase, and a secondary course veered to the E at the N end where it underlay later kilns. This enclosure did not have direct access to the large enclosure, although two metalled paths crossed its silted E ditch. The N side of the annexe was formed by the WNW-ESE boundary ditch that turned into the ditch forming the E side of the annexe in its first three iterations but further re-cuttings extended along the full N extent of the annexe, although some also turned into the E ditch. The boundary ditch was re-cut numerous times in the area of the annexe but was allowed to silt up undisturbed in areas away from it to the W and E. The E side of the annexe fed water from the boundary ditch through to the fosse of the large enclosure at E. Its earliest, narrowest, form contained seeds from the cereal-drying kilns to the E but it was re-cut at least five times, the first incorporating an E-W ditch inside the annexe, the third being overlaid by a spur (Path 10) from the long Path 1, and the fourth being overlaid at its N end by the L-shaped Path 3. The final re-cut was as a drainage ditch directing water from the boundary ditch to the fosse of the large enclosure. (McGlade 2020, vol. 1, 123-39) Within the annexe there were numerous ditches subdividing the internal area. The earliest was a slight NW-SE boundary ditch pre-dating the annexe but the earliest relating to its use was an E-W ditch connecting the E and W boundaries that was re-cut once to take waste from metalworking. This ditch was cut by a shorter E-W ditch just to its N at the E end. A C-shaped ditch backed onto the WNW-ESE boundary ditch in the NW quadrant, leaving room for the original entrance to the annexe, but a redirected re-cutting of the W annexe ditch cut this feature. The C-shaped trench was re-cut once, and a shallow ditch ran E-W in the NE quadrant of the annexe. Another ran N-S connecting the C-shaped ditch with the main E-W connecting ditch, although the junctions with both did not survive. An L-shaped ditch cuts off the SE angle of the annexe and it was cut by the fosse of the large enclosure but debouched into a re-cutting of the E ditch of the annexe. A small, palm-sized and lightly incised stone gaming board came from this feature, and a rectangular structure, interpreted as a forge associated with the later metalworking, sits over its NW angle. Of the twelve cereal-drying kilns within the area of the N annexe, five in the NW corner generally post-date it and the others are frequently cut by and cut features of the annexe. Other features such as pits and postholes and a fire-pit within the annexe probably relate either to the kilns or the metalworking, but no direct connections can be made. (McGlade 2020, vol. 1, 139-49, 178-180) See the attached images from McGlade (2022, vol. 1, p 139, 150, 201) _1 internal ditches; _2 Cereal-drying kilns; _3 Metal-working; Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 3 May 2022