Dún Ailinne Ceremonial Site
Dún Ailinne
Ireland · Kildare
In brief
The site on Knockaulin Hill is a ceremonial center enclosed by a large earthen bank and an internal ditch. Excavations have revealed timber structures renewed throughout the Iron Age and traces of earlier use.
What was found?
- 1Traces of circular wooden structures
Postholes and ditches preserve the plans of successive wooden structures. Although the wood has decayed, these traces show that the site was repeatedly rearranged.
- 2Figure-eight structure plan
During the Rose phase, a figure-eight wooden structure with a funnel-shaped entrance was built. Its plan can be compared with a similar structure at Navan Fort; the details of its use are unknown.
- 3Traces of a double palisade
During the Mauve phase, a double row of wooden fencing surrounded small timber rings. This arrangement shows that the ceremonial site acquired more complex architecture over time.
- 4Intersecting enclosure ditches
Recent excavations examined intersecting circular enclosures north-northwest of the earlier wooden structures. The intersections and recutting of the ditches reveal the construction sequence and subsequent changes.
What does it point to?
According to researchers, Dún Ailinne was a center where ceremonies and communal gatherings combined with political authority. The renewal of the wooden structures shows that the site was not limited to a single construction event.
What did it teach us?
- Iron Age ceremonial architecture could create complex plans without stone buildings.
- The site was repeatedly used through successive arrangements of structures and ditches.
- According to researchers, the large earthen bank and internal ditch formed a ceremonial boundary rather than a defensive one.
Images
Latest news / selected archive
In 2023, a third enclosure was identified that predates the other two ditched enclosures; investigation of these structures continued during the 2024 excavation.
Record
- First modern dig
- 1968
- Team / historical
- Susan A. Johnston; George Washington University
- Coordinates
- 53.1155°, -6.7757°
Sources
Nearby excavations
- Newgrange 67 km
- Vindolanda 356 km
- Avebury 384 km
- Stonehenge 400 km
- Durrington Walls Settlement and Ceremonial Site 402 km
- Silchester Ancient Town 434 km
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- 12.000
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