Dún Ailinne
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Dún Ailinne, also called Knockaulin, is a large hill fort in County Kildare, Ireland. It lies close to the modern N78 road south-west of Kilcullen. The hilltop is around 180–m about sea level.
It was the subject of archaeological research between 1968 and 1975 by a team from the University of Pennsylvania led by Bernard Wailes.
Probably dating from the Neolithic period, Dún Ailinne served as a royal centre and inaugural or ceremonial site used by the Kings of Leinster until the 7th century but was apparently not permanently inhabited.
It is the largest hill fort in Ireland and is surrounded by a circular wall up to 4 m high and over 200 m in radius enclosing an area of some 13 ha. The wall is one of the tallest of the fortifications of pre-Norman Ireland. There is a deep ditch inside the wall and signs of internal radial timber walls, apparently dividing the interior into three, have been found. Remains found on the site include an uncommon La Tène-style sword and more common Roman bronze fibulae. The investigations also revealed a series of circular timber structures of around 20 m diameter dating from the Iron Age, the most recent of which was dated to the 4th century.
[edit] Reference
- MacKillop, James (1998), Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-860967-1
- Raftery, Barry (1994), Pagan Celtic Ireland: The Enigma of the Irish Iron Age, London: Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0-500-27983-7
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