Susan's Fort, Balkinstown, Co. Kildare
Co. Kildare |
Barrows
A low oval mound rising from level pasture in County Kildare is not, on the face of it, especially remarkable. What makes this particular earthwork unusual is the combination of slow natural erosion, animal disturbance, and human interference that has gradually opened it up from the inside, revealing something of what lies beneath. Gravel pits dug into the knoll over the years have eaten away at its structure, and by 1987 no visible trace of an enclosing bank could be confirmed at ground level, though the mound itself persists, roughly six metres high and oval in plan.
The site appears on the Ordnance Survey 25-inch map under the name Susan's Fort, a designation already present in the 1839 edition of the OS 6-inch map, where it is marked at an elevation of 254 feet above ordnance datum. A trigonometrical station was positioned on the bank at the south-east. The mound is broadly consistent with a ringfort, a type of enclosed farmstead common in early medieval Ireland, typically defined by a circular or oval earthen bank surrounding a central living area. What distinguishes this example from many others is the evidence of multi-layered construction visible in the exposed sections of the gravel pits, suggesting the monument was built up in phases rather than as a single event. More striking still, a human skull came to light in one of those exposed sections, specifically in the north-east quadrant. The skull was recovered by the National Museum of Ireland and examined by osteoarchaeologist Laureen Buckley, who confirmed it as ancient. Its precise original context is unclear; badger sets are present across the monument, and it is considered likely that the skull was moved from its original position by animal activity rather than deposited where it was found.