This book presents the results of excavations at the site of an early medieval settlement cemetery in Raystown, carried out in advance of the M2 Finglas to Ashbourne road. The results of this excavation are important for advancing our understanding of the cemetery-settlement monument type, one that is found across Ireland in the early medieval period. This site was unknown before its identification as part of the road scheme; thus, it provides insight into an undocumented settlement that appears to have been an important agricultural center for the area.
The first chapter discusses the historical and geographic context of the site while the second details the phasing of the site and its development from 400CE to 1150CE. The third chapter explores what the burials can tell us about the population over this period. It is estimated that the cemetery represents at least one or two extended households. Calculus deposits on the teeth of most individuals suggests a diet high in carbohydrates and sucrose. There was also a high rate of tooth loss, possibly because of the older age profile of the population.
Chapter four investigates the milling technology used at the site. This is an important aspect, as Raystown had eight mills, this is in contrast to the individual mills found at most other sites in Ireland, such as Nendrum, Kilbegly, and Killoteran. The other important difference is that Raystown was a secular settlement, whereas most of the other mills in Ireland have been found in association with church and monastic sites. Most of the mills at Raystown were horizontal mills, but both horizontal and vertical mils were found in early medieval Ireland. The relatively small number of timbers found on the site suggests that many of the timbers were reused in later mills.
Chapters five and six discuss the agricultural produce of the site, while chapter seven looks at the objects found on the site, particularly the dress ornaments, pottery fragments and iron work. These objects reveal a group of inhabitants who had connections to trade networks with Anglo Saxon England and continental Europe. The author draws parallels between the objects found at Raystown with those found at Lagore Crannog (an early medieval royal site). While it is unlikely that Raystown was a royal site, its inhabitants were clearly of some prestige and had access to the same trade network as other Irish royal and elite households. However, high-status objects decline in the tenth century and there is no evidence of metalworking. By the thirteenth century, Raystown has declined to a peripheral settlement with little material culture.
The final chapter places the site in a wider context and discusses its importance to medieval Ireland and our understanding of the period. Raystown appears to have begun as a cemetery and developed into an important grain processing centre, possibly operating for the surrounding settlements. It was not a royal site but was associated with high-status trade. By the thirteenth century the settlement was mostly abandoned and under tillage, at this time its original name and importance were lost.