Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy noticeA hillfort in Co Wicklow has been declared the "largest nucleated settlement in prehistoric Ireland and Britain". The Queen’s University-led study examined existing archaeological data from Brusselstown Ring, as well as conducting new excavations. Dr Dirk Brandherm from Queen’s has argued that even if not every one of the anomalies represented a roundhouse, this would still make it the largest nucleated prehistoric settlement in Ireland and Britain by some distance. “Our discoveries challenge previous conceptions of prehistoric settlement organisation, showing a level of social complexity, community cohesion and regional importance not fully recognised before.

Source: Irish Independent January 08, 2026 03:52 UTC