Posted on 01/21/2026 6:32:38 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Brusselstown Ring lies within the Baltinglass hillfort cluster, a landscape of up to 13 large hilltop enclosures that shows nearly continuous activity from the Early Neolithic through the Bronze Age. What is singular about Brusselstown, however, is its extraordinary scale and layout. Two widely spaced ramparts surround the site, with the outer boundary encompassing not only the main hillfort but also the nearby Neolithic enclosure at Spinas Hill 1. Enclosures extending across more than one hill are rare in Ireland and Britain and are very uncommon even in later Iron Age Europe.
Airborne and topographical surveys identified more than 600 subtle platforms interpreted as former house foundations. Ninety-eight lie within the inner enclosure, while more than 500 occupy the area between the inner and outer ramparts. This is a dense concentration of dwellings, implying a permanently occupied, tightly organized community rather than the small, scattered farmsteads that dominate most of prehistoric Ireland...
Excavations also revealed a very unusual stone-lined structure near one trench. The flat interior and its association with a natural water source make it unlikely to be a typical roundhouse. Researchers instead believe that it may have served as a water cistern, a feature identified in parts of continental Europe but as yet undocumented in Irish hillforts. If confirmed, it would be evidence of considerable planning to support a large population on the hilltop.
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeologymag.com ...
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Photogrammetry map of Brusselstown Ring indicating potential roundhouse footprints, test trench locations and the potential cistern (A), with close-up lidar image of house platforms (visible as circular footprints) on the eastern slope (B).Credit: D. Brandherm et al., Antiquity Publications Ltd (2025)
If I saw that, I’d see a hill.
Not a “settlement”, or even “pre-city”.
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