Enclosure in Summerhill Demesne

Located on a shelf towards the bottom of a N-facing slope. Archaeological testing (06E1231) by A. Collins in advance of a re-alignment of the R158 road identified archaeological features in the right-angle curve of the R158 where it changes course from W-E c. 500m E of Summerhill village and turns S (Collins 2008, 14-15). It was set aside as Site 1 and excavated (07E0163) by the same archaeologist (xcavations.ie 2007:1392). The monument is a rectangular enclosure (int. dims 20m plus E-W; c. 20m N-S) defined by flat-bottomed ditches or moats at the E (Wth 3.25m; D 1.35m) and S (Wth of top 2.5m; D 1.06m) that were supplied with water from a leat (Wth 2.2m; D 1.25m) approaching from the S and joining the moats at the SE angle. Another leat approaching from the S joined the centre of the S side. A short section of the N moat (Wth of top 2.6m; D 1.15m) was also sampled. There was no evidence of an inner bank or palisade, but the siting of internal features c. 2-4m inside the inner edge of the ditch suggests that it may have had an inner bank. The interior was divided into three plots by linear gullies and slot-trenches. There were numerous pits and post-holes in the interior as well as the remains of three bowl furnaces and a large cereal-drying kiln. Three square structures represented by clusters of post-holes at the four corners, perhaps indicating phases of re-building, were c. 4m inside the moat at S. Some pits are Iron Age in date as a C14 determination of 129-390 cal. AD was returned from one. A slightly later date is represented by two short gullies and five pits at the NW edge of the excavated area that produced a C14 date of 446-650 cal. AD (Collins 2009, 12-4). The enclosure was established in the early medieval period and the three moats returned most of the artefacts recovered, including a pseudo-penannular ring-broach of seventh to tenth century date, two glass beads, a copper alloy ring and another fragment of a ring. Each of the three ditches was re-cut at least three times, and two C14 dates of 620-780 cal. AD and 660-870 cal. AD were returned from the final re-cut of the S fosse. Two curvilinear gullies cordon off the NW part of the interior and four phases can be recognized in their establishment in the seventh century. Their courses intersect at one point and only the later inner one has an entrance gap at E, which was maintained in subsequent iterations. The narrower outer gully (Wth 0.6m; D 0.35m) produced a C14 date of 490-650 cal. AD from a hazelnut shell at its base, while its final re-cutting provided a radiocarbon date of 620-870 cal. AD. The corral created by these gullies was devoid of structures, apart from occasional pits and gullies and two possible wind-breaks, although one of these post-dates the corral as it is built over its outer gully. The W part of the enclosure, which remains unexcavated, was cordoned off from the E by another N-S gully running S from the outer curved gully. (ibid. 21-26, 34-6) Outside the coral there were structures in the S part of the enclosure. There is a cereal drying kiln, evident as an oval feature (dims 4.86m N-S; 0.85-1.62m E-W), inside the SE angle of the enclosure and it may have had a stone-lined flue. Its clay-lined base was fire-reddened and it was filled with four layers of silt which yielded carbonised cereal remains that produced a C14 date of 690-890 cal. AD. The kiln was disturbed by a tree-bole but it may have been dumb-bell shaped with the drying chamber at the higher S end. (ibid. 27-8) Immediately W of the cereal drying kiln was a square structure (dims c. 4m x 4m) defined by clusters of post-holes at each corner except the SE where they would have been destroyed by a later ditch. At its centre a single bowl furnace provided a C14 date of 720-970 cal. AD. Seven small pits, including two other bowl furnaces, close to the S ditch are thought to be related. (ibid. 28-30). Just 6m to the W of this structure a line of three overlapping structures are thought to be nearly contemporary, although not closely dated. At the E end of the line a square structure (int. dims 4m x 4m) is represented by clusters of post-holes at every corner except the SW. It overlaps a rectangular structure (dims c. 5m x c. 4m) to its W which occupies the area of the two other bowl furnaces. This structure was defined by arcs of posts to the E and W of what might have been an open space between the structure to the E and the circular structure (diam. c. 3-4m) to its W that is defined by nine post-holes with a possible entrance at SW (ibid. 28-34). There were clusters of post-holes throughout the interior of the enclosure but no patterns were discerned, although they are thought to be generally contemporary with the structures. There were also some pits and two hearths that could not be directly associated with the structures (ibid. 34-8). Of the 174 artefacts recovered 66 were prehistoric lithics, mostly waste flint and chert, and late medieval wares in the upper fill of the fosses or moats are thought to be intrusive. Two complete cable type glass beads were recovered from the primary fills of the enclosure ditches, and two other fragments of glass beads were also found. Early medieval artefacts are few, but a lignite bracelet and a piece of amber are significant discoveries. Amongst thirty nine metal artefacts were a copper alloy ring-pin and two copper alloy pins (ibid. 48-50), although not all from sealed contexts. There were four sherds of early medieval E-ware, but most of the pottery recovered were local wares from the high medieval period including Dublin wares (13th to early 14th century), and sixteen sherds are post-medieval in date, from the 18th century and later. There was clearly prehistoric activity in the area, but in form the enclosure would be classified without question as a high medieval moated site. The contexts of the early medieval material are very secure, and the radiocarbon determinations demonstrate conclusively that the enclosure was constructed and used in the middle to later part of the first millennium AD. There is no evidence of occupation, although this may await discovery in the W part of the monument that was outside the road-take but all the structures appear to have been devoted to industrial activity, particularly metal-working. See the attached site plan from Collins (2009, fig. 10; N at top) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 29 June 2021