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Townland

Brownstown

Baile an Bhrúnaigh

Quarrying exposed different kinds of archaeological evidence in the Carnalway townland near Kilcullen.

Recorded locationBrownstown53.14558° N · 6.72790° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Recorded place location · Logainm.ie

The name

A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.

Recorded forms

  • Baile an Bhrúnaigh · Irish · main form
  • Brownstown · English · main form

Place & story

Discoveries in a sand pit

The National Monuments Service records finds from a Brownstown sand pit in 1935: two skeletons, four Food Vessels and an Encrusted Urn. Further discoveries a short distance northwest in 1943 included cremated bones, another Encrusted Urn and a small knife. The inventory notes that the area appears subsequently to have been quarried away. These discoveries belong to Brownstown in Carnalway electoral division, rather than the Kildare townlands sharing its name elsewhere. [2]

A drying kiln without a secure date

Later quarry monitoring led to excavation of a clay-cut drying kiln. It probably dried grain, although no cereal remains were recovered. A fire bowl and drying chamber were joined by a flue; postholes suggested a wooden covering over the drying chamber. Recutting indicated at least two phases of use. No diagnostic finds securely dated the kiln: the prehistoric flint recovered from its backfill was considered redeposited. [3]

Geographic information

Place type
Townland
County
Kildare
Civil parish
Carnalway
Within
Carnalway
Coordinates
53.14558, -6.72790
Mapped area
1.53 km²
Logainm ID
25704 ↗

People & family history

Census figures refer to the matched historical census area for each year. Boundaries and spellings can change over time.

1901 census

No verified place match is available for this year. This does not indicate a population of zero.

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Brownstown. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. Brownstown burial discoveries, KD023-027---- · Gearóid Conroy, National Monuments Service; uploaded29May2012
  3. Brownstown corn-drying kiln, KD024-056---- · Gearóid Conroy, National Monuments Service; uploaded12July2012
  4. Boundary geometry retains its source attribution and licence in the downloadable geographic record. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2024-08-16. How this page was prepared.