EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

Wicklow
Giltspur, Co. Wicklow
Early Medieval Unenclosed House.
Grid Ref: O25281598 (325287/215981)
SMR No: WI008-005
Excavation Licence: 04E1201; 04E1324
Excavation Duration/Year: September 2004.
Site Directors: A. Cryerhall & C. Moriarty (Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd).
An area of archaeological potential was uncovered during pre-development topsoil stripping.
This area, sited on a gradual slope, was found to contain a keyhole-shaped corn-drying kiln, a
sub-rectangular post-built structure (Fig. 304), and two associated cut features.
The sub-rectangular structure (5m by 4m) was built on a terrace cut into the hillside. Three
of the walls were defined by postholes, and the fourth wall appears to have consisted of a
horizontal sill beam supported by stone foundations. Some of the larger structural postholes
were re-worked, evidence for posts being replaced. A post-built ‘porch’, with eighteen
stakeholes (presumably for a wicker-wall), was located at the entrance to the house; and an
internal division, interpreted as a wicker-screen, was represented by a linear slot trench with
postholes at either end. The interior of the structure had a metalled surface and a hearth.
Radiocarbon dates suggest that the corn-drying kiln (which appears to have been largely
associated with oats) and the structure may have been synchronous (see below). The lack of
artefacts recovered from the structure led the excavator to interpret the building as a possible
saball or barn. This interpretation may be supported by a pit with charred barley grains
located just inside the entrance to the structure, however the internal division and the hearth
located in the structure equally suggest that structure may have had a domestic function.
Of the two cut features, one would appear to have been an old field boundary; and the
second, located up-slope from the house and kiln, would appear to have functioned as a
drain to deflect rainwater.
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