Abstract
This article presents a series of new radiocarbon dates aimed at resolving long-standing issues about the development of the complex of Navan Fort, Co. Armagh, and its wider context. These include radiocarbon dates for human remains from excavations at Site A, Site B, and from the area of the quarry adjacent to Navan Fort. Iron Age, early medieval and post-medieval dates
from these remains complicate previous assessments of the site and its development, but add important new data for Navan and its long-term evolution. In particular, evidence for a funerary dimension to the immediate environs of Navan Fort now seems apparent, while further post-medieval activity within the enclosure of Navan Fort extends the chronology of the complex well into the second millennium AD. A date from a human clavicle recovered
during excavations suggests the possibility of formal deposition on the cairn of Site B during the Iron Age, and supports the suggestion that the cairn was a focus of activities for a considerable period prior to the construction of the turf mound of Site B. Together these dates add nuance to our understanding of the complex and its long term development, but also raise many new issues about its medieval and later role.
from these remains complicate previous assessments of the site and its development, but add important new data for Navan and its long-term evolution. In particular, evidence for a funerary dimension to the immediate environs of Navan Fort now seems apparent, while further post-medieval activity within the enclosure of Navan Fort extends the chronology of the complex well into the second millennium AD. A date from a human clavicle recovered
during excavations suggests the possibility of formal deposition on the cairn of Site B during the Iron Age, and supports the suggestion that the cairn was a focus of activities for a considerable period prior to the construction of the turf mound of Site B. Together these dates add nuance to our understanding of the complex and its long term development, but also raise many new issues about its medieval and later role.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 53-69 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Journal of Irish Archaeology |
| Volume | 32 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2023 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgementsThe authors are grateful to Ryan Montgomery and Libby Mulqueey from Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, for their help with Figures 5 and 7, and to colleagues in the Historic Environment Division, Northern Ireland for assistance with analysis of the archive and permission to sample the bones presented here.