Dún Ailinne, on the hill called Knockaulin, is a large enclosed archaeological site in County Kildare, Ireland. It lies close to the modern N78 road to Athy, south-west of Kilcullen (or, in full, Kilcullen Bridge), and immediately adjacent to the lower rise on which sits Old Kilcullen. The site comprises 13 hectares surrounded by a ditch or "henge". At 183 metres above sea level, the hilltop holds a commanding view of the entire region, from the Wicklow Mountains in the east to the Bog of Allen in the west.
Dún Ailinne was a royal site for the Kings of Leinster, analogous to Tara (Kings of Meath), Emhain Macha (Navan Fort, Kings of Ulster), Cnoc Cruachain ([[Rathcroghan]Rathcroghan] Kings of Connacht) and perhaps Cashel (Kings of Munster). All were hilltop features.
Contents |
Indications of earliest use are from the Neolithic period, but the main activity there was during the Iron Age, when it is believed that Dún Ailinne served as a royal centre and inaugural or ceremonial site for the Kings of Leinster. There is no evidence suggesting the site was inhabited in the conventional sense, but instead was mostly used for more short-term activity, including ritual. References to it having been a "palace" of the Kings of Leinster are now considered inaccurate. This makes it analogous to the earlier Neolithic henges rather than the contemporary Iron Age hillforts (Johnston and Wailes 2007). It appears to have been occupied during the Spring/Summer months and the evidence of cooking and eating meat has surfaced during excavation to include large quantities of bones from cows, sheep, pigs, deer and horses (Crabtree 2007, in Johnston and Wailes 2007). In terms of its ritual use, the internal structures and arrangement, and its location and association, is similar to the other Iron Age sites of Tara, Navan, and Rathcroghan (Johnston 2006). While it figures in occasional early historical references, Dún Ailinne was largely abandoned around the time the early Christian settlement at Old Kilcullen was established in the 6th century.
Excavations during the 1960s and 70s revealed a series of central timber enclosures within the surrounding bank and ditch. Each of three phases of construction was characterized by timber uprights in varied arrangements, most of them based on concentric arrangements of circles. One of these, the Rose phase, had a palisade structure in a figure of eight arrangement, with one large circle and an annex to the south, and an elaborate funnel-shaped entrance. The later Mauve phase had a palisade within which were a timber circle and smaller, closed, circular structure. The final phase was characterized by ceremonial feasting, indicated by a large amount of animal bone (Johnston and Wailes 2007).
The site is surrounded by an earth bank and ditch enclosing an area of some 13 ha. There is some debate about whether it served a defensive function, a symbolic or ritual purpose, or both. There is a deep ditch inside the wall. Remains found on the site include an uncommon La Tène style (Celtic Iron Age) sword and more common Roman bronze fibulae (Johnston and Wailes 2007).
Dún Ailinne was the subject of archaeological research between 1968 and 1975 by a team from the University of Pennsylvania led by Bernard Wailes. More recently, a geophysical survey of the interior was carried out by a joint American and Irish team (Johnston, Campana, and Crabtree 2009). This revealed a large number of new subsurface features whose character is uncertain.
Following some scholarly journal publications, a book was released by an American university publisher in 2007, by Bernard Wailes and Susan Johnston.
In 2008, an interpretative site was opened at Nicholastown, a townland just south of Kilcullen (Bridge), featuring a bilingual information panel (Gaeilge and English) and a small-scale reproduction of the mound, topped by a sculpture.
The site is a National Monument under Irish law. The entire site is situated on private farmland and casual access is restricted due to difficulties with livestock; in general, the owners of the land have no problem with people having a stroll as long as they ask permission beforehand at the farmhouse just on the north-east side of the hill beside the N78 road.