County: Dublin Site name: Cappogue
Sites and Monuments Record No.: DU014–027 Licence number: 06E0228
Author: Melanie McQuade, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd, 27 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Site type: Multi-period occupation on site of castle
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 710537m, N 740078m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.399272, -6.337816
Excavation uncovered evidence for three main periods of occupation on this site, but no remains of the castle itself were found. The earliest activity is thought to be prehistoric but precise dating awaits the results of radiocarbon analysis. This phase of activity is characterised by a series of eleven intercutting pits filled with burnt material. The pits were of varying size and were probably used for domestic purposes. A prehistoric date is indicated by a piece of struck flint recovered from one of the pits.
A heavily disturbed, and as yet undated, burial-ground occupied the south-eastern part of the site. Here the remains of at least sixteen individuals were interred. Most of the burials were extended inhumations aligned east–west. The burials were enclosed by a deep ditch and orientated in a north-east/south-west direction, but only a short section of this ditch survived. The upper part of this ditch may have been scarped away to the north-east to make way for modern farm outhouses. Another burial was considerably removed from the main burial-ground (75m to the north-east) and that individual was facing southwards.
A large number of medieval features were uncovered during excavation. These have been dated by a preliminary analysis of the pottery finds to the late 12th–14th century. Of note was a large L-shaped ditch. This measured up to 3.9m wide and ranged from 1.14m to 1.74m deep. The north–south arm of the ditch extended for 53.4m and the eastern return extended for c. 20m. The size of this ditch and its organic waterlogged fill indicates that it could represent the remains of a moat that may have delimited the earlier settlement on this site, prior to the construction of the recorded Cappogue Castle. A small curvilinear ditch was partially exposed to the north of this L-shaped ditch and may represent an outer enclosing element, although contemporaneity of the two ditches has not been proven.
In the area to the east of and external to the possible moat, several smaller linear ditches were uncovered. These were all aligned more or less north–south and were relatively shallow, narrow ditches. They could have marked the line of burgage plots or of cultivation ditches.
The final phase of activity on site was characterised by a series of post-medieval field boundaries and drainage ditches. The majority of drainage ditches were aligned east–west.
Finds from the site included a couple of worked flints, a fragmentary bone comb, leather shoe fragments, an arrowhead and a large assemblage of medieval pottery, most of which were locally produced wares.
A further phase of excavation on lands immediately to the north of this site is due to commence shortly.
