Defining Royal sites? Royal sites as a monument class

Central to arguments that see Royal sites as ‘special’, is their conceptualisation as a coherent group of sites. Morphological coherency suggests meaningful coherent constitution and is central to the hypothesis that these sites’ connection with kingship in the medieval period represents continuity with prehistoric times. Thus, their conceptualisation as one meaningful monument group is crucial to arguments that derive their relevance from their later, medieval importance (eg, Warner Reference Warner, Driscoll and Nieke1988; Newman Reference Newman, Bradley and Williams1998, 129; Doherty Reference Doherty and Breathnach2005; Johnston Reference Johnston2007a, 196; Waddell 2014; Reference Waddell2018; Fenwick Reference Fenwick2018), as the possibility of coincidental association with these narratives is seemingly reduced. Rather than a reinvention of the past in medieval times, the memory of these sites and their importance is thought to have been important enough ‘that they could provide an effective symbol of the pagan past’ (Johnston Reference Johnston2007a, 195).

It is however the magnetism of the medieval narratives of these sites that has attracted archaeological attention and excavation and it has been considered possible that a much larger number of sites can be grouped with the Iron Age ‘Royal sites’. Raftery (Reference Raftery1994, 80) pondered how many of the medieval inauguration or assembly sites may have Iron Age antecedents and pointed at some possible candidates, a topic further discussed by others (eg, Warner 1988; Reference Warner1994a; Armit Reference Armit, Haselgrove and Moore2007, 133; Dowling Reference Dowling2015, 65–6).

The identification of a coherent group of prehistoric ‘Royal sites’ is based on a range of well-rehearsed morphological criteria that appear to show a shared design, possibly not only showing similarities in conceptualisation, but also possibly intra-site references. However, the great variability in the articulation of these criteria is acknowledged (Johnston Reference Johnston2006, 56–7), with for example the figure-of-eight symbolism found in the structures at Knockaulin (Fig. 1) and Navan (Fig. 2) spotted in either the possibly conjoined timber structures at the Rath of the Synods (but see Newman Reference Newman1997, 96), or the two conjoined circular earthworks at the centre of Tara. Similarly, Cooney and Grogan refer to the juxtaposition of the two ring-ditches or burial enclosures at Rathgall as an earlier version of the figure-of-eight motif (Cooney & Grogan 1999, 190). Other characteristics are their hilltop locations, the apparent non-utilitarian, ie, unroofable large timber structures and the non-utilitarian internally ditched ramparts found on some. As the equivalent of the palimpsest of burial monuments that characterises the hill of Tara, the last phase at Navan has been postulated as symbolically recreating a burial mound – such as that of the Mound of the Hostages at Tara – and the clusters of burial monuments around Navan, Rathcroghan, and Knockaulin have been drawn to attention in the absence of burials or clearly identifiable mounds (Johnston Reference Johnston2007a, 197). For the latter, the central ‘chamber’ element of the Mauve phase structure has been suggested to mitigate the lack of a mound-shaped reference to a prehistoric past (ibid., 198) and a slight soil deposit has been discussed as the possible remains of a mound here also (Wailes Reference Wailes1990, 10).

Fig. 1.

Plan of the Rose phase at Knockaulin, Co. Kildare (after Johnston & Wailes Reference Johnston and Wailes2007, fig. 2.10; based on digital file provided by S. Johnston, image courtesy of the Penn Museum)

Fig. 2.

Phase 3ii at Navan Fort, Co. Armagh with hearth locations highlighted. Inset of detail of inside of houses with feature numbers (after Lynn Reference Lynn1997a, figs 7 & 8; with kind permission of the Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland (HERoNI))

The coherency of the group is thus not all that clear and rather than just reflecting a ‘messy reality’ of Royal sites (Armit Reference Armit, Haselgrove and Moore2007, 133), it is here argued that the group starts to break apart if we consider the actual activities taking place on them. Fundamental differences of function between Navan, Knockaulin, and Rathcroghan on the one hand and Tara on the other are obvious. Knockaulin, Navan, and Rathcroghan consist of a sequence of large timber structures with associated food consumption and craft activities. In contrast, the majority of excavated or documented monuments at Tara are funerary – from the Neolithic Mound of the Hostages, over the great number of possible Bronze Age barrows to the Iron Age burial ring-ditch beside the Mound of the Hostages and the various funerary elements of the Rath of the Synods. While the late phase of the latter monument’s sequence has been discussed as a possible ringfort (Grogan Reference Grogan2008), the evidence for this is ambiguous (Dowling Reference Dowling, Schot, Newman and Bhreathnach2011; Warner Reference Warner2013) and the association with an assemblage of Romano-British material further removes it from the core phase of activity on the site.

What all sites except for Rathcroghan share is their slightly elevated situation and internally ditched enclosure. This, however, can be paralleled in other sites outside the canon of Royal sites as per medieval literature: The consideration of Raffin (Fig. 3; Newman 1993; Reference Newman, Grogan and Mount1995) within his group of Developed Ceremonial Complexes (Newman Reference Newman1997) importantly took account of the morphological characteristics that align this site with the established range of Royal sites at Navan, Tara, and Knockaulin and opened the category beyond those discussed in the medieval narratives. Also, enclosures at Rathgall, Co. Wicklow and Ballydavis, Co. Laois are likely to have been internally ditched. While at Rathgall an argument can be made for the Late Bronze Age origins of a ditch with a – smallish – diameter of some 40 m, some evidence suggests that it may have been dug or modified in the Iron Age and to have had an external bank. In its Bronze Age phase Rathgall seems to offer strong links to Tara as a place of funerary (and metalworking) activity. The later addition of a large round building, that can probably be dated to the earlier Iron Age creates a strong link to Raffin and the other ‘Royal’ sites. At Ballydavis, Co. Laois (Fig. 4; Stevens Reference Stevens2011) Late Bronze Age activity and a possible Early Iron Age round-house were followed by a sequence of later Iron Age and early medieval burial monuments and ironworking activity, within and outside a probably internally ditched enclosure. Its substantial V-sectioned ditch enclosed the summit and had half-silted up when three fires were set within it, with oak charcoal from one of them providing a terminus ante quem of cal. ad 75–240 (95.4% probability; SUERC-9015, 1855±35 bp) for the creation of the ditch. One of two penannular ring-ditches that enclosed burials within the enclosure, contains a circle of widely spaced posts surrounding a possible figure-of-eight structure.

Fig. 3.

Raffin, Co. Meath (after Newman Reference Newman, Grogan and Mount1995, fig. 5.6)

Fig. 4.

Ballydavis, Co. Laois (after Stevens Reference Stevens2011, fig. 5) with kind permission of Transport Infrastructure Ireland

Both these sites expand the range of sites with internal ditch by yet another variant that seems to combine burial and metalworking with structural components. The nomenclature of the internally ditched enclosure thus unifies a wide and varied range of sites, some of which featured in later, medieval literature, whereas others did not. The presence of an internally ditched enclosure does not dictate or follow from a site’s function and neither is the group of ‘Royal sites’ mentioned in medieval narratives coherent or unique – breaking up the enduring conceptual hold that historic narratives have over the interpretation of these sites.

Space and form – the timber structures of the royal sites

The excavations at Navan and Knockaulin, as well as the geophysical imaging of the Rathcroghan mound, demonstrate the presence of sequences of large timber structures. Much debate has revolved around the question as to whether these were roofed buildings, unroofed timber post arrangements, or, as suggested for the reconstruction of the Mauve phase at Knockaulin, amphitheatres with staggered seating (eg, Wailes 1990; Reference Wailes2007).

Both at Navan Fort, as well as at Knockaulin, large figure-of-eight structures were excavated (Figs 1 & 2). These consist of two conjoined timber circles, orientated broadly on a south-west to north-east axis with entrances in the north-east. When first uncovered at Navan Fort, the southern elements of these structures were identified as large roofed houses as they contained hearths (Fig. 5) and occupational material, with the northern elements, interpreted as yards or byres, recently revised to be accepted as genuine figure-of-eight structures (Lynn Reference Lynn2006, 14). The large size of these structures, in particular that of site A/C at Navan and the Rose phase at Knockaulin, suggests that they would be difficult to roof with conventional roofing methods (eg, Lynn Reference Lynn2006). However, that they were roofed is suggested, first, by the presence of an external, third ‘slot’ at Knockaulin that is most likely to represent a drip gully around both southern and northern parts of the Rose phase structure (Lynn Reference Lynn2006), implying a roof from which water would have run off. Secondly, the apparent identification of hearths in the field plans of the northern elements of the figure-of-eight structures at Navan seems to provide further evidence for this (Fig. 2, highlighted). Hearths 8–10 are within the northern ‘yards’ of the figure-of-eight structure and likely to correspond to the three phases of buildings in this area (Lynn Reference Lynn1997b, fig. 7).

Fig. 5.

Navan Fort, Co. Armagh. Hearths with flag stone setting in the southern part of the figure-of-eight buildings (after Lynn Reference Lynn1997a, pl. 9a, with permission of the Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland (HERoNI))

Considered within a wider context it becomes apparent that these buildings are part of a tradition of constructions that consist of two concentric, contemporary double ring-slots/grooves. These multiple slots were interpreted by Lynn initially as consecutive phases of wall replacement with the roof remaining in situ (Lynn 1997d, 147–59), a theory recently revised but still envisaging only one slot trench at a time to have been in use (Lynn Reference Lynn2006, 8–13). However, the short slots, connecting the entrance posts of inner and outer slot trenches in a number of instances at Navan (Fig. 2), for example, show that they were indeed contemporary, as do those connecting the two slot trenches of the Rose phase at Knockaulin.

This construction method represents a fundamental departure from preceding Late Bronze Age traditions and was apparently applied to the construction of buildings with a diameter of over 9 m (Fig. 6). Their footprint consists of two ring-grooves or a ring-groove with an internal line of posts. These two closely spaced walls occur at a number of sites – as at Navan and Knockaulin – joined by a short stretch of wall forming an entrance, suggesting that the two wall lines are indeed contemporary and thus elements of a double-skinned wall. This is the case at Rathgall and Raffin, where a large circular structure in each case has been radiocarbon dated to around, or after, 800 cal bc on charred timbers from within their wall slots – in the case of Raffin even dated to a very narrow period around the beginning of the 8th century bc (Raffin: 2565±22 bp 810–590 cal BC, 2σ; UB-3712; Newman Reference Newman, Grogan and Mount1995, 62; pers. comm. Rathgall: SUERC-42581; 2465±29 bp 770–430 cal BC, 2σ; 760–410 cal bc). At Rathgall the partially surviving inner line of walling is formed by posts, continuing the line of an initial stretch of slot trench that contained planks and stone packing. Similarly, at Raffin (building B), wall timbers and post-pipes were documented within the slot trenches (Newman Reference Newman, Grogan and Mount1995, 62). Outside the range of these sites, a double slot trench, or ring- groove building was excavated at Moneylawn in Wexford (Fig. 6; Becker et al. Reference Becker, Armit, Swindles and Stanley2017) with further examples abroad at Broxmouth, East Lothian (Armit & McKenzie Reference Armit and McKenzie2013, 157), Wetwang Slack, Yorkshire (Dent Reference Dent2010, 20), and Great Woolden Hall, Salford (Harding Reference Harding2017, 65). In addition, at the Iron Age settlement of Melsonby (Haselgrove & Hamilton Reference Haselgrove and Hamilton2016b, 337–8, CS1 and CS2) and possibly at Rock Castle (Haselgrove & Hamilton Reference Haselgrove and Hamilton2016a, 329–31), both in Yorkshire, possible double skin structures are represented by combinations of slot trenches and stake-hole rings. Both single- and double-walled buildings reach quite substantial diameters of over 10 m. House B at Raffin had a diameter of c. 9–10 m diameter and buildings at Brook House Farm (Harding Reference Harding2017, fig. 2.22) and Kintore, Aberdeenshire (Cook & Dunbar Reference Cook and Dunbar2008, 326 – RH23) about 13 m without any visible internal supports.

Fig. 6.

Examples of double-skinned Iron Age structures: a. Navan Fort phase 3ii, southern elements of figure-of-eight structures (after Lynn Reference Lynn1997a, fig. 62, with permission of the Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland (HERoNI)); b. Rathgall, enclosure ditch with 15 m structure; c. Knockaulin, (after Johnston & Wailes Reference Johnston and Wailes2007, fig. 2.1, courtesy of the Penn Museum); d. Moneylawn Lower, Co. Wexford, (after McKinstry 2011, with kind permission of Transport Infrastructure Ireland)

While it is unclear how structures beyond this diameter, as found at Rathgall, Raffin, Navan, and Knockaulin, would be roofed, it appears that walls of double ring-groove construction seem to facilitate the extraordinary size of these buildings. While in medieval double-skinned basket houses insulation materials such as moss provided insulation in the wall space (eg Deer Park Farms, Co. Antrim; Lynn & McDowell Reference Lynn and McDowell2011; see also Lynn Reference Lynn2003a), this would not add stability to a large construction. In the case of the Iron Age, plank- and post-built structures, the space may have been filled with sods or turves, providing stability and support for a substantial building without need for internal supports. The same argument as made for a building at Bancroft, Buckinghamshire, where two closely spaced rows of posts were also interpreted as a double-skinned wall (Williams & Zeepvat Reference Williams and Zeepvat1994, 35), while at Melin y Plas, Anglesey, double formations of narrow gullies have been interpreted as demarcating wide cob or clay walls (Smith Reference Smith, Cuttler, Davidson and Hughes2012, 69–71). How these could be the equivalent of commonly observed stone-faced rubble or turf walls is illustrated by the Bronze Age example from Lairg, Sutherland, where embanked houses produced evidence for internal wattle revetments (McCullagh & Tipping Reference McCullagh and Tipping1998).

Early medieval houses at Deer Park Farm as well as the Iron Ages structure at Platin-Lagavooren, Co. Meath (Lynch Reference Lynch2012) were wattle-built, allowing for the construction of a basket structure, which, as proposed in a reconstruction at Bosta, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides (Neighbour & Crawford Reference Neighbour and Crawford2001, fig. 8) may have been gabled to span both compartments. In Bosta, as well as in the case of the Royal site examples which appear to have had planked walls, the roof must have sat on a wall plate, but may itself have been constructed in a similar fashion to those of basket houses, consisting of woven and light elements (Lynn 2003a; Reference Lynn2006, 19).

The latest phases of building at Knockaulin and Navan Fort site B alike consist of circular buildings that dwarf those of the previous phases (Figs 7 & 8). The similarity of the Mauve phase and the 40 m structure of phase IV at Navan has been highlighted (eg, Lynn Reference Lynn1991). At Navan a large central oak post, as well as five circles of internal posts, mean the 40 m structure was structurally capable of supporting a roof and there is compelling evidence for such having been present as some posts were pushed 10–15 cm below their post-pits (Lynn Reference Lynn2003b, 30; 2003c, 36); the conclusion that this was a structure that carried a roof or a superstructure of enormous size is unavoidable (Lynn Reference Lynn2003b, 30–1). While the contemporaneity of multiple circles is still subject of debate for sites such as Ballacagen on the Isle of Man (Bersu Reference Bersu1977; Harding Reference Harding2017) or Candle Stane in Aberdeenshire (Romankiewicz Reference Romankiewicz2018), it seems to be evident at Navan Fort’s 40 m structure. At Navan, the evidence for the outer ring of posts originally having consisted of single ones, also pushed beyond their post-pits, and augmented by the addition of as second post in each case, further documents the enormous pressure that must have rested on the building (Lynn Reference Lynn1997a, 169–71),

Fig. 7.

Knockaulin, Mauve phase (after Johnston & Wailes Reference Johnston and Wailes2007, fig. 2.14, image provided by S. Johnston, courtesy of the Penn Museum)

Fig. 8.

Navan Fort Site B, 40 m structure (after Lynn Reference Lynn1997a, fig. 8, with permission of the Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland (HERoNI))

The Mauve phase building at Knockaulin combines an outer double slot trench with an internal substantial post-ring and a central ring of posts that has been interpreted as an inner sanctum or tower without an entrance (eg, Wailes Reference Wailes1990). Instead, this can be argued to represent a central support for an upper floor or a support for a roof. In contrast to the central large oak post used at Navan Fort, this central support at Knockaulin consisted of a ring of posts that was surrounded by angled, abutting posts, indicating substantial pressures being compensated for. It is notable that this is, arguably, not a one-off construction but that the building of the White phase, with a diameter of about 20 m diameter, also had a central, circular arrangement of posts to provide additional support (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9.

Dún Ailinne, White Phase (Johnston & Wailes Reference Johnston and Wailes2007, fig. 2.9, image provided by S. Johnston, courtesy of the Penn Museum)

This type of construction also seems to be represented at Rathcroghan. Two structures documented in geophysical analysis seem to adhere to the same multi-circle design. The northern ‘enclosure’ at Rathcroghan may represent a double-walled building with an outer diameter of 26 m and centrally placed features that may have, similarly, provided an internal support (Waddell et al. Reference Waddell, Fenwick and Barton2009, 154–5). On top of the mound itself a double enclosure (G40 & G46) of 32 m outer diameter consists of what seems to be paired posts set at a 1.5 m distance that may enclose a smaller circular enclosure (R18). This arrangement may have had an eastern entrance (G49; Waddell et al. Reference Waddell, Fenwick and Barton2009, 165–6, 175). These five examples from three sites suggest a widely known nomenclature of this forms of building that permits the construction of such exceptionally sized buildings across Ireland. The similarity between these, in particular the Mauve phase at Knockaulin and a similarly large building at Bancroft, is striking. At the latter, two outer double-skinned walls with a diameter of 18.3 m enclosed an internal post-circle and a central post (Williams & Zeepvat Reference Williams and Zeepvat1994, fig. 20). Here, as at Fison Way, Thetford, Norfolk, the existence of an upper level consisting of a central ‘tower’ with a lean-to roof around it has been proposed to explain the structural components extra to the standard two-ring round- house model (Gregory Reference Gregory1992, 48–52). While of a different ground plan, the monumental posts represented at Stanwick, Yorkshire (LS 1 & 2, Fitts et al. Reference Fitts, Haselgrove, Lowther, Turnbull and Willis2016, 79–89) were also discussed as indicating the presence of an upper level (Haselgrove Reference Haselgrove2016a, 89) and the existence of post-built towers – of rectangular plan – seems also evidenced in Denmark (Dengsø Jessen & Fiedler Terkildsen Reference Dengsø Jessen and Fielder Terkildsen2016).

While thus the argument for these structures having been roofed becomes stronger, even if this was not the case the very fact that the structures are modelled on houses is of crucial importance. Roofed or unroofed the fact that, morphologically, these structures can be considered to be moulded on the idea of a ‘great houses’ (cf. Lynn Reference Lynn1997a; Warner Reference Warner1994b; Bradley Reference Bradley2005, 75), seems to be at the core of what these sites are and stand for.

Funnels and approaches

Part of the range of characteristics often considered typical of the Royal sites are funnel-shaped avenues or approaches, such as those found at Knockaulin, Navan, and Rathcroghan. At Navan the two consecutive phases of the phase 3ii–iii figure-of-eight buildings were accessible through funnel-shaped palisaded avenues orientated towards the north-east of the site. These crossed the causeway of the enclosure ditch of preceding phase 3i to an, as yet unlocated, exit in the east of the site. At Knockaulin (Johnston et al. Reference Johnston, Campana and Crabtree2009) geophysical imaging revealed an avenue that connects the northern building of the Rose phase structure to an enclosure that is located within the extant, internally ditched rampart (enclosure 6, Fig. 10) and it is likely that the avenue pre-dates this larger enclosure.

Fig. 10.

A model of the sequence of enclosures and structures at Knockaulin, Co. Kildare; a. Rose phase. The figure-of-eight structure excavated by Wailes could be shown to link in with an enclosure evidenced in the geophysical survey (Johnston et al. Reference Johnston, Crabtree and Campana2014); b. White phase. The double ring structure of the White phase follows stratigraphically the Rose phase, but pre-dates the building of the Mauve phase. It is unclear if this phase was enclosed and if so, if the enclosure of the Rose phase as suggested here still existed; c. Mauve phase. The last and largest building at the site is here hypothesised to have been contemporary with the internally ditched enclosure. Features that are here attributed to a phase are outlined in black, undated features in grey. A third enclosure revealed by the geophysical survey pre-dated the last internally ditched enclosure but is otherwise undated (not illustrated)

At Rathcroghan a similar constellation is visible in the geophysical images (Fig. 11). A funnel-shaped avenue led from an outer enclosure G2 and its entrance to the inner enclosure encircling the mound (Waddell et al. Reference Waddell, Fenwick and Barton2009, 154–5; Schot et al. Reference Schot, Waddell and Fenwick2016). Within the interior of the inner enclosure, on the mound, a second avenue that leads up to the enclosed house can be recognised in the geophysical images (Fig. 12, A1). This arrangement of an avenue leading to a smaller enclosure with a circular structure is mirrored immediately north of the mound, also within an outer enclosure, (‘enclosure’ G14, Fig. 11).

Fig. 11.

Geophysical survey of Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon. G2 outer enclosure, G1 inner enclosure around the mound, G14 enclosure north of the mound with its avenue G33 and G34 (Waddell et al. Reference Waddell, Fenwick and Barton2009, fig. 5.5, reproduced with kind permission of J. Waddell and Wordwell Books)

Fig. 12.

Geophysical survey of Rathcroghan, Co. Roscommon. G1 enclosure around the base of the mound, with entrance in the east, A1 possible avenue. G40 and 46 – double post ring structure. G51 is a further circular structure that may have an eastern entrance G49, that may link in with A1. G41 is a feature that seems to form part of the make up of the mound, but possibly also represents a further circular structure on its summit (Waddell et al. Reference Waddell, Fenwick and Barton2009, fig. 5.21, reproduced with kind permission of J. Waddell & Wordwell Books)

These ‘avenues’ have been discussed as facilitating processions, for example as part of performative, ritual action, serving to create and maintain the centralised power structures at Knockaulin (eg, Johnston et al. Reference Johnston, Crabtree and Campana2014) and the public nature of these events is deduced from the large size of the structures (ibid., 206–7). Like the figure-of-eight structures, avenues have joined the range of features that are commonly considered diagnostic for ‘ritual’ Iron Age sites, and the presence of a similarly defined approach to a large round-house at Lismullin (see below) has contributed to the discussion of this site as a temple (Fig. 13; O’Connell Reference O’Connell2013). A recently excavated site at Ardloy/Springfield, Co. Sligo, similarly may have a short, fenced approach connecting the entrance of a circular palisaded enclosure with a centrally positioned house (Fig. 14; O’Hara Reference O’Hara2018). At Mell, Co. Louth (Fig. 15; McQuade Reference McQuade2005) two ditches possibly formed part of a funnel-shaped approach to an enclosure and a tentative similarity may be seen in a short stretch of parallel wall slots leading to a figure of-eight basket structure at Platin-Lagavooren, Co. Meath (Fig. 16; Lynch Reference Lynch2012).

Fig. 13.

Lismullin, Co. Meath (after O’Connell Reference O’Connell2013, ill. 4, 3, with permission of ACS Ireland Ltd & Transport Infrastructure Ireland)

Fig. 14.

Ardloy/Springfield 4, Co. Sligo (after O’Hara Reference O’Hara2018, with kind permission of Brian O’Hara, IAC Ltd & Transport Infrastructure Ireland)

Fig. 15.

Mell, Co. Louth (after McQuade Reference McQuade2005, fig. 2)

Fig. 16.

Platin-Lagavooren, Co. Meath (after Lynch Reference Lynch2012, fig. 4 with permission of IAC Ltd and Transport Infrastructure Ireland)

The size of the posts delineating the avenue at Knockaulin, with a post-hole diameter of 43 cm suggests fencing of a considerable height. This inner line of posts was augmented, or possibly replaced, by a second line of fencing represented by slot trenches. This barrier would have shielded the potential path of the procession from view both from surrounding areas and from within the interior of the structure and its hypothetical viewing platform/seating. This may, as argued in the case of the ‘Banqueting Hall’ at Tara, be explained as the management of views of the surrounding landscape afforded to members of the procession (Newman Reference Newman2007).

However, constructional details of the avenue at Knockaulin suggest a functional complexity that may indicate another purpose than that of processions (Fig. 17). The funnel-shape of the avenue itself seems important and may be designed to guide the movement of, and gather together, a large group of individuals – human or animal – into the structure. This notion is reinforced by the fact that a short distance from the entrance to the Rose structure the avenue is cut across by a fence with a centrally located gate that appears to have seen several stages of rebuilding and repair, as indicated by at least two lines of fences or screens crossing the approach. This suggests a need to further control access to the structure, notably of subjects that are already within the site, after having entered through the outer enclosure. This arrangement speaks for the management of herds, rather than of a self-structuring, socially controlled, and co-ordinated groups of people in procession, though of course both uses may not have been mutually exclusive. If the management of life stock was indeed the purpose of the avenues, they were meant to be led into the northern part of the structures, though the funnelled avenues, as may be indicated by a base layer of apparently deliberately introduced cobbles in the east (Lynn Reference Lynn2003b).

Fig. 17.

Knockaulin Rose phase avenue (Johnston & Wailes Reference Johnston and Wailes2007, fig. 2.4, digital file provided by S. Johnston, image courtesy of the Penn Museum)

Importantly, regardless of whether the northern portions of these structures are interpreted as open yards or parts of roofed buildings, the figure-of-eight arrangement seems to be a response to a need for separation of functionally different zones. Similar ideas about the differentiation of space are found in literary sources for the early medieval period that suggest the use of portions of figure-of-eight structures as backhouse, outhouse, or kitchen (O’Sullivan et al. Reference O’Sullivan, McCormick, Kerr and Harney2008, 231). The differentiation of people and activities in public and withdrawing spaces within medieval castles suggests a further social dimension of the organisation of space inside buildings (Johnson Reference Johnson2002). In addition to the shape of the ground plan it is the construction details of the entrance gaps of the Rose structure that speak to functional differentiation: The clearance of the gate intersecting the avenue as well as that of the entrance to the northern structure is 3 m. In contrast, both the entrance to the southern part of the figure-of-eight house as well as the connecting entrance between southern and northern parts of the structure were only c. 1.5 m wide. It is thus possible to envisage the driving of livestock, and vehicles, through the avenue into the northern element of the structures, with the southern element only accessible by more narrow entrances, reserved for humans.

The function of the avenues as droveways leading up to the figure-of-eight structures had been pondered for Navan (Lynn Reference Lynn1997b, 214; Waddell Reference Waddell2018, 23) and also for double earthworks such as Tara’s – medieval – Banqueting Hall or Rathcroghan’s Mucklaghs (Waddell Reference Waddell2010, 379). The best parallels for the articulation of the avenues of the Royal sites can, however, be found in Wales and England. Iron Age enclosures here have often been shown to contain house structures (Fig. 18; Murphy & Mytum Reference Murphy and Mytum2012, fig. 3b, eg, Woodside); and on occasion evidence for the drove way or avenue to be tied into an outer enclosure (eg, ibid., fig. 3b & fig. 3a; Trefereed Uchad fig. 8; Llwyn-du Bach: Manley Reference Manley1991; cf. Ghey et al. Reference Ghey, Edwards and Johnston2008, 11, fig. 4). Related banjo enclosures – that can enclose house structures – have upon excavation also shown evidence for internal ditches (Perry Reference Perry1974, 71; Lang Reference Lang2016, 346, 353, 349) and have been discussed as functioning to divide and corral cattle (Moore Reference Moore2012, 409; Lang Reference Lang2016).

Fig. 18.

Enclosures in Wales (Murphy & Mytum Reference Murphy and Mytum2012, fig. 3)

In a move away from entirely functional explanations of British banjo enclosures, their social function has been explored (Hingley Reference Hingley, Cunliffe and Miles1984; Moore Reference Moore2012; Lang Reference Lang2016) but, importantly, they have been shown to facilitate transhumant movement between geological zones suitable for sheep pasture and better watered pastures, suitable for grazing cattle and horses. Providing access to different landscapes, they were tied with earthworks into systems of landscape management and movement of stock and possibly people (Moore Reference Moore2012, 409–10). Similarly, the antenna ditches attached to the Iron Age settlement enclosures of Little Woodbury, Wiltshire and Gussage all Saints, Dorset have been interpreted as means of channelling stock into the sites (Harding Reference Harding2017, 49).

The most striking parallel for the Irish Royal sites was excavated in Moss Carr in West Yorkshire (Fig. 19), where a funnel-shaped avenue led to a figure-of-eight structure that had been repeatedly rebuilt in the same location (Roberts & Richardson Reference Roberts and Richardson2002; Harding Reference Harding2017, 47–9). Similarly, at Bryn Eryr in Anglesey, 0.5 m wide gullies formed an approach to the worn yard of a round-house. This approach was maintained in a later phase when a second house was added to it, both buildings conjoined so closely that they resemble a figure-of-eight structure (Longley Reference Longley1998, 227–32, figs 2 & 22).

Fig. 19.

Moss Carr, West Yorkshire (after Harding Reference Harding2017, fig. 2.15)

Further afield in Norway funnel-shaped arrangements of low field walls are thought to have guided livestock into Bronze Age long-houses (Fig. 20; Myhre Reference Myhre1980; Rønneseth Reference Rønneseth2001). This may be to facilitate lambing or calving, shearing, trading, or other occasions in the agricultural calendar that required the bringing together of animals, ideally in a protected environment, as argued for long-houses in Bronze Age Norway (Armstrong Oma Reference Armstrong Oma2018, 118–19).

Fig. 20.

Bronze Age longhouse at Ullandhaug, Norway (photo: Kristin Armstrong-Oma)

Singularity

The fact that, at Rathcroghan, two virtually identical arrangements of such possibly contemporary structures are found is striking and may provide significant insights into the development or process of these activities. Indeed, much previous interpretation derives from the presumed ‘unusual’ and extraordinary, singular character of the structures found on these sites. However, increasingly it is becoming clear that they not only formed (as argued above) part of a broader corpus of related architecture but also that the large structures do not stand alone even on the Royal sites themselves. The presence of adjacent and possibly contemporary structures at some of these sites may suggest that the large structures were focal points of a larger accumulation of structure, that may well be houses.

At Navan circular slot trenches of structure D, structure R, and a further, slighter slot trench (58) truncated by the later ring slot B3, were documented within the area defined by the southern parts of figure-of-eight structures H and K. The first two represent a further figure-of-eight structure, whereas slot trench 58 may have represented a simple circular structure. Waterman (Reference Waterman1997) suggested that structure D had never been finished, as the slot trench was filled with redeposited natural soil and no evidence for posts was forthcoming. If planks or a basket construction were based in these slot trenches, post-holes would not be expected and the slot trench could have been infilled with redeposited natural soil upon the removal of the structure. The sequence of site A/C at Navan (Lynn Reference Lynn2000; Mallory & Lynn Reference Mallory and Lynn2002) overlapped chronologically partially with Site B, suggesting complexity of site function and development – the earlier figure-of-eight structure comprising this site post-dating stratigraphically one of the slot trenches extending from phase 3ii of site B and its later ringfort type enclosure, producing a terminus ante quem from upper layers of its fill (Lynn Reference Lynn2002; Bayliss and Grogan Reference Bayliss and Grogan2013, 117–28, fig. 123). The figure-of-eight structure at site A/C post-dates the sequence of comparable structures at site B, before – after a possible hiatus in activity – the 40 m structure was constructed at site B. The later round-house (phase B) at site A/C remains undated though a charcoal date from an upper level of the ditch fill of its enclosure provides a terminus ante quem somewhere near the end of the Iron Age (Bayliss & Grogan Reference Bayliss and Grogan2013, 128–9, fig. 15) and two undated extended inhumation burials positioned in front of its entrance may support this late date.

At Knockaulin (Fig. 10), the geophysical survey completed circular features that had been partially uncovered during the original excavation: feature 8 of the geophysical survey completes the double-arc of post-holes 229 discovered in the excavations to the west of the structure to a full circle c. 20 m in diameter. It is tempting to interpret this as the possible remains of a very large double-walled structure. The survey also identified a similarly large feature immediately to the north of the main cluster of features (feature 13). A group of round structures (feature 15) pre-dates Rose phase enclosure 6, but sits within the confines of a second, possibly earlier, enclosure ditch that was identified in the geophysical survey (feature 9).

Likewise, at Rathgall further large structures are implicated in the geophysical survey and, at Rathcroghan, rebuilds on the same location are represented in the geophysical data for the northern building and several phases of rebuilding appear likely for the building on the mound (Waddell et al. Reference Waddell, Fenwick and Barton2009, 142–56, 167).

Action

Navan Fort and Knockaulin have produced a significant number of artefacts and ecofacts in substantial, charcoal-rich deposits. The presence of these deposits suggests significant levels of sustained human activity on these sites – resembling, by all accounts, what in any other context would be interpreted as occupation evidence. Among this material, some finds stand out as special deposits. The famous Barbary Ape skull found at Navan (Napier & Jenkins Reference Napier and Jenkins1997; Raftery Reference Raftery1997b), the complete La Tène sword from Knockaulin (Johnston & Wailes Reference Johnston and Wailes2007), the presence of human remains there and at the Ráith na Ríg at Tara (Roche Reference Roche2002), as well as of a human clavicle among the stones of the cairn at Navan (McCormick Reference McCormick1997, 120) are striking and ‘special’, as are the spear-butts from Tara and Navan, the decorated dress pins from Navan and Knockaulin, or indeed the other items of personal ornamentation such as glass beads, pins, and fibulae – all likely deliberate deposits. However, the presence of special deposits on settlement sites is a common occurrence in later prehistory, both in Bronze Age Ireland and Britain (eg, Hill Reference Hill1995; Brück Reference Brück1999a; Armit & Ginn Reference Armit and Ginn2007; Cleary Reference Cleary2018). Structured deposits of artefacts and human remains on hillforts and other settlement sites show how cosmologies and domestic or everyday practices are intertwined and defy categorisation or separation and do not render the Irish sites purely ritual temples or ceremonial centres.

A number of on-site activities are evidenced within the range of artefacts. Metalworking – iron and bronze – as well as glassworking is represented at Tara in the pre-bank phase (Roche Reference Roche2002, 39–43; Crew & Rehren Reference Crew, Rehren and Roche2002). At Knockaulin, iron smithing evidence was associated with the Rose and Mauve phases in particular (Johnston Reference Johnston2007c, 145) and a casting jet and possible bar ingots suggest bronze smelting (Johnston 2007e, 109–10). A possible tracer suggests the decoration of bronze or gold objects (Johnston Reference Johnston2007d, fig. 8.5, pl. 8.5). Also at Navan metalworking, woodworking (a possible drill bit), lignite- or shaleworking (half-finished rings and a lignite pendant; Lynn et al. Reference Lynn, Raftery, Henderson and Warner1997, 85–9), and possibly glassworking were practised (Henderson Reference Henderson1997). Some of these activities could be attributed to the construction of the large timber structures (cf. Johnston Reference Johnston2007b, 203): whetstones, metal blades, and tools from Knockaulin; the socketed iron axehead, bronze and iron nails as well as bracket and a joiner’s dog from Tara (Roche Reference Roche2002, 43). On the other hand, they may also speak of complex woodworking activities taking place here that could equally be considered as evidence for a more enduring presence of people on site, the possible drill bit from Navan, for example, representing most likely more delicate woodworking techniques than those required in the creation of the large timber structure.

This possibility is also underscored by the evidence for subsistence and craft activities such as a sickle or artefacts related to textile production, such as spindle whorls and weaving or matting needles at Knockaulin and Navan as well as needles and a weaving comb from site A/C at Navan (Raftery Reference Raftery1997a, 138; Crabtree & Campana Reference Crabtree, Campana, Johnston and Wailes2007). The rare survival of an Iron Age bone artefact assemblage demonstrates not only that this material was used for the production of spindle whorls and needles, ornamental dress pins (Fig. 21a) and mounts created in this otherwise rarely preserved material, but also provides evidence for the working of this material on site in the form of form of half-finished and waste material at Knockaulin (Fig. 21b; Crabtree & Campana Reference Crabtree, Campana, Johnston and Wailes2007, 167), as well as at Navan (Mallory Reference Mallory2000, 38; McCormick Reference McCormick2000, 38). At Tara antler may have been worked (McCormick Reference McCormick2002, 108) and the presence of exclusively deer metapodia and phalanges at Navan Fort may suggest deer hide processing (McCormick Reference McCormick1997, 120). The evidence for textile production in the form of spindle whorls, needles, and the aforementioned weaving comb on these sites is supported by the age profiles of the sheep at Tara (McCormick Reference McCormick2002, 106). The fact that at both Navan and Knockaulin significant numbers of pits were found within the interior of the structures also suggests longevity of use, possibly even the storing of stock or materials.

Fig. 21.

a. dress pin; b. worked bone from Knockaulin (image provided by S. Johnston, courtesy of the Penn Museum)

These assemblages are rarely reflected on, with the exception of Johnston, who acknowledged the co-existence of secular and ritual activities on site and the great variety of craft activities (Johnston Reference Johnston2007b, 20), though without considering this material as ‘ordinary domestic debris’ (Johnston et al. Reference Johnston, Crabtree and Campana2014, 212). Allowing for occupation in close vicinity to the structures at Navan Fort, Raftery wrote, in 1997, about the weaving comb from Navan fort that ‘we are thus reminded of the very extensive area of the enclosure which has not been excavated and of the possibility that Navan, as well as serving as a presumed ritual centre, was also the scene of a secular settlement during the Iron Age’ (Raftery Reference Raftery1997a, 138).

The 40 m structure at Navan Fort did not produce any artefactual or bone assemblage and the spreads of soil in some areas of the building are argued to be upcast from the digging of the large post-pits – suggesting that the building was infilled and destroyed soon after its construction (eg, Lynn Reference Lynn1997b, 212–13; Reference Lynn1997c, 37). However, there is some architectural evidence for alterations or modifications to the building (Lynn Reference Lynn1997a, 40–2, 213; Romankiewicz Reference Romankiewicz2018, 20–1) which may suggest a longer life span of this building than often envisaged. Any possibly accumulating materials may have been removed before the destruction of the building or, indeed, no residue-producing activities may have taken place, suggesting a change in activities in this phase in this particular location.

Seasonality

A major factor that structured past thinking on the functioning of these sites is the evidence for seasonality in the slaughter patterns observed in the animal bone assemblages. At Knockaulin a high proportion of slaughtered cattle were, based on the tooth evidence, slaughtered at about 3 months of age and a further group at about 6 months (Crabtree Reference Crabtree1990, 24). The slaughter age of pigs at maturity may suggest that they were killed in the autumn before their second overwintering (McCormick Reference McCormick1997, 119). This, in itself, should primarily reflect the rhythm of pastoral regimes rather than of site use but has, in conjunction with often-referenced evidence for intermittent or episodic activity at Knockaulin, contributed to the frequently cited narrative of the sites as places of episodic congregation and feasting. This was also anchored on the make-up of the Flame phase deposits: in this phase episodes of vegetation growth alternated with deposits of anthropogenic material comprising animal bones, charred material, and burnt stones (Wailes Reference Wailes2007, 21). While relatively loose in composition and thought to comprise redeposited material (due to the lack of evidence for in situ burning) the excavator noted very thin, stone free lenses of humic material throughout this deposit, indicating short periods of inactivity during which patches of vegetation developed ‘comparable to the patchy vegetation over a year or so on the spoil heaps of excavation’ (Wailes Reference Wailes2007, 19). The Flame layer is the horizon from which the greatest number of the large assemblage of animal bones at Knockaulin stems: 5604 bones of a total of 16,864 (33.2%: identified and unidentified) and 55 of the overall 201 MNIs (27.4%: Crabtree Reference Crabtree, Johnston and Wailes2007, tables 13.1 & 13.2). Thus, a great part of the feasting activity, including the evidence for the roasting of meat (Wailes Reference Wailes2007, 21) and, in particular, the evidence for episodic use of the site is restricted to the Flame phase, which represents the last phase of use of the site – post-dating the large buildings and the dismantling of the Mauve phase 40 m structure. While the high number of animals associated with this phase may be the result of advantageous conditions for preservation presented by the looser and dryer character of the Flame deposits and less disturbance to this than the underlying layers would have been exposed to (Wailes Reference Wailes2007, 21), there is currently no evidence to suggest intermittent activity in the preceding phases here or at any of the other Royal sites. Interestingly, however, the evidence from the Flame phase actually seems to suggest that the site became the focus for repeated visits after the destruction of the large building, including the roasting of meat on open fires on top or beside the dismantled remains of the Mauve phase structure. The Flame layer also contained one of the two human bone finds from Knockaulin – a fragment of skull (Crabtree Reference Crabtree, Johnston and Wailes2007, 156).

Feasting

The presence of large animal bone assemblages further serves to underpin the importance of livestock on these sites. The evidence suggests that live animals were brought up to the site, slaughtered, and consumed here. The proportions of different species vary from site to site but cattle, pig, and to a lesser degree sheep and horse, dog, and occasionally deer were consumed on all three sites. While the slaughter patterns of the cattle have been discussed controversially in regard to dairying versus meat production (McCormick Reference McCormick2002, 105–6; Crabtree Reference Crabtree, Johnston and Wailes2007, 162), the presence of the bones on the sites has been discussed primarily as the result of ‘feasting’ and, as such, firmly placed within the range of ‘non-domestic’, ‘ non-utilitarian’, or ‘ritual’ activities taking place on these sites. Feasting is, however, not an end to itself, detached from ‘real, domestic’ life, but marks and facilitates a variety of different significant social occasions. These may have included particular events in the agricultural cycle that were actually focused on the management of livestock, as suggested above for the figure-of-eight phases at some sites. Sheep flocks, for example, may be brought in for shearing or for separation into owners’ lots in the lambing season (Armstrong-Oma Reference Armstrong Oma2018); pigs may have been brought in to be slaughtered before the winter season; and cattle possibly in spring and autumn (Crabtree Reference Crabtree1990, 24). These major events within a community’s lifecycle may been accompanied by festivities and indeed feasting. The animals that constitute the focus of the event, as for example sheep in the lambing season, may not feature significantly in the animal bone record that results from the accompanying feasting, where pigs and cattle would dominate. It is nonetheless interesting to observe that the NISP of sheep bones is the highest in the Rose phase at Knockaulin at 38.9%, in contrast to the White and Mauve phases; also the other Iron Age phases contained about 25% of sheep, with the exception of Lower Emerald and Dun (Crabtree Reference Crabtree1990, 23, table 1). These animals – as horses also – were probably slaughtered when they were not suitable anymore for their primary function of riding, traction, or indeed wool production. The primary use of the horses consumed here for riding is evidenced by bridle wear on a horse tooth from Tara (McCormick Reference McCormick2002, 107) and the ageing data for sheep at Tara that suggests their use for wool production (ibid., 106).

Royal sites in their settled landscape

As outlined above, the questions of subsistence methods, lifeways, and society organisation have been entangled with the interpretation of the Royal sites. Models of highly mobile pastoral, or even nomadic, society roaming Iron Age landscapes were constructed out of the apparent contrast between the physicality of the ‘non-functional’ Royal sites and the absence of evidence for settlement.

Evidence for Iron Age settlement and agriculture has increased in the last 20 years or so. While still significantly less plentiful than in the Late Bronze Age or the early medieval period, securely dated evidence of barley and wheat underlines that arable agriculture was practised in various parts of the country in the second half of the 1st millennium bc (cf. Plunkett Reference Plunkett, Salisbury and Thurston2009) and a number of sites around Tara have produced evidence for both pastoral and arable agriculture practised in a relatively densely settled landscape in both the early medieval period (O’Sullivan & Kinsella Reference O’Sullivan and Kinsella2013, 363 or 373) as well as the Iron Age (eg, Becker Reference Becker2013). This evidence suggests settlement and agricultural activity in this landscape not far from the Hill of Tara, supported by evidence in the form of cereal grains found at Lismullin, Screen 3, Ross 1, and Roestown and arable weeds at Lismullin and Screen 3 (O’Connell Reference O’Connell2013, 60), at Lismullin demonstrably reaching back into the earlier part of the Iron Age.

Lismullin (O’Connell Reference O’Connell2013) is one of two enclosures excavated close to Tara. A double palisade enclosed a large round structure that was connected by an avenue or fenced path with an elaborate gate construction. A slight dip in the topography and drainage issues in the locality led the excavators to argue against an occupational function of the site and the structural remains were interpreted as a henge-like temple (ibid.). However, the preceding and consecutive use of the site, consisting of grain storage in the Bronze Age (a four-poster structure) and kilns in the early medieval period, speaks loudly to the usability of the location for agricultural and settlement purposes. A sub-rectangular structure immediately south-west of the round-house produced dates that place it broadly before or contemporary with the house and a relatively high proportion of animal bone was associated with it, again underlining the continuous use of the locality for subsistence related activities. The presence of two linear parallel ditches north and south of these buildings were filling in until 700–500 bc as established by OSL. These, as well as ditch 2936 that produced an Early Iron Age date and stratigraphically pre-dates the central round-house, may have provided drainage for the site. Neither the association of animal bones with the rectangular structure nor the pits and post-holes that represent an earlier phase of activity in the interior of the circular structure and have been interpreted as shrines (O’Connell Reference O’Connell2013, 60–1) can be taken as evidence for such a function.

The need to construe overly mobile societies has thus lessened as the organisation of all of Iron Age society exclusively around livestock – as characteristic for pastoral societies – becomes untenable. This is not to ignore the fact that no binary contrast between sedentary and mobile communities is anymore envisaged in anthropological models, but rather a range of varying modes of lifeways, often co-existing and collaborating (cf. Rollefson et al. Reference Rollefson, Rowan and Wasser2014; Honeychurch & Makarewicz Reference Honeychurch and Makarewicz2016, 343). However, nomadism, an adaptation to scarce resources, is commonly found in landscapes of ecological extremes, unlike Ireland, and is characteristically restricted to herbivores. The keeping of pigs, so strongly represented in the animal bone records of the Irish Royal, but also other, sites is rarely observed in pastoral or nomadic communities.

The animal bone assemblages from Knockaulin and Tara contained large proportion of pigs, making them the second most important species there (McCormick Reference McCormick2002, 104) and they were the dominant species at Navan’s site B (McCormick Reference McCormick1997, 118). At Navan, Knockaulin, and Tara pigs were mainly slaughtered maturely (18 months to 2 years at Navan (McCormick Reference McCormick1997, 119); and 2.5 years at Knockaulin; Tara mature or old (McCormick Reference McCormick2002, 106)). This was presumably the optimum age for consumption, comparable to recent non-improved breeds. This suggest that pigs, as cattle, were actively managed livestock with the neutering of male and possibly female pigs as piglets in order to suppress aggressiveness and avoid a boar-taste to the meat.

A slaughtering age of over a year may suggest that the pigs were kept in an extensive livestock farming mode, ie, either roaming within a restricted area or moving in the landscape with a swineherd. Pigs kept intensively tend to fatten up more quickly and the comparable non-improved breed of the Iberican pig has an ideal age for slaughter around 12 months (Hadjikoumis Reference Hadjikoumis2012, 357–8; 363). Medieval swine have similarly been shown to be slaughtered close to 2 years of age (Campbell Reference Campbell2006, 165). This speaks for seasonal slaughter after the acorn mast in oak forests which, in Ireland, would be in late autumn or winter. Intriguingly, a broad consistency of the slaughter ages has been argued to reflect an organised and planned structure of pig farming, not unlike that observed in the large-scale production in Iberia today – in stark contrast to small scale independent unit breeding that operates more independently of natural food supplies (Hadjikoumis Reference Hadjikoumis2012, 362). This would, in the case of the Irish sites, suggest a larger market to be the target of production, rather than small, self-sufficient units or the ongoing demands of a smaller region. However, the availability of food stuffs and climatic considerations may also have led to targeted breeding in extensive pig keeping practices (ibid.). It is tempting to see this as additional evidence for a central role of the Royal sites in the management of livestock, possibly as distribution centres for produce. Such large-scale production appears anachronistic but, in fact, has recently been demonstrated at Hallstatt, Austria where, in the Late Bronze Age, large amounts of pig sides were processed and cured (Hammer et al. Reference Hammer, Tautscher, Pucher, Kowarik, Reschreiter, Kern and Haring2018).

It is tempting to argue that a variety of livestock, including pigs, were brought together to the sites on a seasonal basis, with the funnel structure facilitating the movement of the animals into buildings, as argued above. The northern, funnelled houses could have functioned as byres and a possible upper floor of the large house of the Mauve phase at Knockaulin would allow such use of the ground level, explaining the absence of occupational evidence on ground level. The evidence for consumption of large amounts of meat may indeed be evidence for feasting accompanying these events. These consumption patterns may not be representative of everyday practices but this does not take away from the possible function of these sites in complex networks of agricultural production.

Infield/outfield

While this emphasis of livestock management may at first sight support traditional narratives of pastoral Iron Age society, there is also some indication that the Royal sites and, indeed, the funnels themselves played a role in arable agriculture: the very existence of avenues could also be read as an indicator of an arable regime being practised on site. At Knockaulin and Rathcroghan – possibly also at Navan – the avenues were directly linked into larger enclosures, thus not only defining and creating controlled access to the houses but at the same time preventing access to the remainder of the interior of the enclosure. The rest of the large enclosed area may conceivably have been dedicated to arable agriculture in an infield–outfield type of agriculture – considered but ruled out as an option by Lynn (Reference Lynn1997b, 214). As argued for the southern English banjo enclosures, the morphology of the sites appears to primarily facilitate access while dividing off an internal space from the larger area within the enclosure – unifying the diverse range of sites on a fundamental level (Moore Reference Moore2012, 405). At Rathcroghan, within the large enclosure (G2), truncated remains of ridge and furrow cultivation were identified (Waddell et al. Reference Waddell, Fenwick and Barton2009, 145) which indicate the position and orientation of a number of small plots surrounding the central mound. Waddell et al. speculated about a medieval date of these fossil field plots (Reference Waddell, Fenwick and Barton2009, 146) and pointed out that the fact that cultivation patterns on either side of the enclosure differ in their orientation indicating that the enclosure was at least still upstanding when these fields were cultivated (Waddell et al. Reference Waddell, Fenwick and Barton2009, 147–8, fig. 5.7). He suggested an early medieval date for the fields, but likewise an Iron Age date is conceivable.