From skill to skill: evidence for medieval brewing at Balbriggan, Co. Dublin

Recent studies and experiments in Irish archaeology have greatly increased the available information on the features generally described as grain-drying kilns. Based on these studies, a typological framework has been established (www.emap.ie) to categorise kilns and to assign different forms (i.e. keyhole-, figure-of-eight-, dumb-bell- and pit-/irregular-shaped) more easily to different periods. The excavation of an unusual later medieval kiln with a roughly T-shaped flue in the townland of Folkstown Great near Balbriggan does not, however, fit easily into this typological model. Three features that may be classified as ‘pit kilns’ according to the above typology were excavated nearby and yielded medieval ceramic fragments and radiocarbon date ranges comparable to the T-shaped example. When the environmental samples were analysed, significant variations in the plant macrofossil assemblages were noted between the pit kilns and the T-shaped kiln. The particular morphology of the T-shaped kiln is discussed here, and the kiln is considered in the context of the wider archaeological signature of the area. This paper then contends that the T-shaped kiln was specifically designed to carry out a range of functions above and beyond those carried out at the conventional pit kilns on site, and finally proposes a function associated with the process of drying malted barley for the purpose of brewing ale. This suggestion is discussed in conjunction with several enigmatic mortar-lined pits located nearby. Finally, the ensemble of features is considered as a potential malting/brewing complex capable of producing large quantities of ale.