Traditionally associated with the kings of Ulster, the great hilltop enclosure of Eamhain Mhacha (Navan Fort), Co. Armagh is an early Irish royal site. In recent times it has undergone a series of archaeological excavations, which have revealed a wealth of information about the fort and its inhabitants. One of the most exciting and curious finds uncovered during these works was a Barbary ape skull.
It was was discovered within a large figure-of-eight shaped structure that was located near the centre of the fort. This building was one of a number of very similar Early Iron Age structures that had been erected at this location, one on-top of the other. Indicative of continuous occupation, over a considerable period of time, it has been suggested that each of these structures represented a roundhouse with an attached circular yard (see the image below). The larger yard was probably un-roofed, while the smaller roundhouse contained finds suggestive of domestic occupation. These included, amongst others, fragments of pottery, glass beads, shale armlets, animal bone, bronze artefacts and hearth waste. This range of artefacts may indicate that the buildings represented dwellings, possibly of high status individuals.
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