Revealing the Past 2023: The Archaeology of Knocknashee

Dirk Brandherm, Queens University Belfast, presents their work  Fieldwork undertaken since 2016 at the hilltop site of Knocknashee, (Co. Sligo) has established a Late Bronze Age date for the roundhouse occupation on the summit plateau of the hill but at the same time has raised questions regarding the exact nature of that occupation. The results from our excavations indicate that the site, previously categorized as a hillfort, in fact appears to have been unenclosed throughout prehistory. A primarily defensive purpose can thus confidently be ruled out. This raises wider issues concerning the nature of hillforts and other hilltop sites of the Irish Bronze Age, which now appear much more diverse in purpose than has been generally acknowledged in the past.