Sacred places: Kilskeagh, Co. Galway and Neolithic earthen enclosures.

Excavation of complete Neolithic enclosures in Ireland is rare, with few published to date. This article will detail an excavation carried out during the summer of 2010 in Kilskeagh, Co. Galway, where a small penannular enclosure with a raised interior or mound was revealed. Radiocarbon dating and artefactual analysis indicates it is Neolithic in date and joins a small number of known earthen Neolithic enclosures in Ireland. While the enclosure displays similarities with several other smaller enclosures of the Neolithic period, as with the majority of smaller Neolithic enclosures it has no known exact parallel. It is the contention of this article that the enclosure uncovered in Kilskeagh, Co. Galway represents a unique, non-funerary monument of ritual or ceremonial significance, probably dating to the middle Neolithic period. It was revealed that there had been deliberate re-use of the enclosure ditch, with re-excavation in the form of a widening and deepening of the cut, for activity resulting in the production of burnt mound-like material. Further, it was uncovered that in the later part of the early medieval period, a stone-lined cereal-drying kiln was constructed in the Neolithic enclosure's internal mound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]