2025:364 - Marmalade Lane, Wyckham Place, Balally, Dundrum, Dublin 16, Dublin

Archaeological monitoring was carried out, commencing 12 November 2024, during development works at a site known as ‘Marmalade Lane’, Wyckham Place, Dundrum, Dublin 16. The development site is to the east of the Carmelite Centre at Gort Muire House and south of Saint Tieran’s Community School. The development works comprised the stripping of topsoil in advance of the construction of housing.

Monitoring established that archaeological features were present at the development site, and the site was separated into three areas of archaeological potential (Area A, Area B and Area C) for the purpose of archaeological excavation.

Area A, located in the south-western portion of the site, measures approximately 5,700m² and contained archaeological features distributed in four spatially discrete clusters. The features include a keyhole-shaped kiln, two possible charcoal-production pits, a series of post- and stake-holes that may represent structural remains (Structure A), and various pits and post-holes of uncertain function. A significant characteristic of Area A is the near-complete absence of diagnostic artefactual material from the excavated features.

Area B, located immediately north-east of Area A, measures approximately 6,523m² and contained the highest concentration and density of archaeological features identified during the excavation. The features at Area B are located on a relatively level area adjacent to rising ground to the east. In marked contrast to Area A, Area B produced a substantial assemblage of diagnostic medieval pottery (181 sherds), along with metal objects and lithic artefacts. This concentration of artefactual material provides secure chronological indicators for activity at Area B and enables confident assignment of these features to the medieval period, broadly twelfth to fifteenth centuries AD, based on preliminary assessment.

Area C, located on the eastern side of the development site, measures approximately 9,783m² and is characterised by extensive outcroppings of granite bedrock that significantly constrain the archaeological potential of much of the area. Archaeological features identified during topsoil stripping in the northern portion of Area C include a possible hearth, a figure-of-eight-shaped kiln, pits, post-holes, and a relict field boundary corresponding to nineteenth-century Ordnance Survey mapping. Several sherds of medieval pottery were recovered during topsoil stripping at Area C, indicating that at least some features in this area are likely to be medieval in date. Following consultation with the National Monuments Service, the features at Area C have been preserved in situ rather than excavated.

The excavated features at Areas A and B have been assigned to three broad chronological phases (Phase I–III) based on stratigraphic relationships, artefactual associations, and correlation with historic mapping. However, it must be emphasised that this phasing is preliminary and subject to revision pending the completion of specialist artefact analysis and particularly the results of radiocarbon dating currently in progress.

Phase I encompasses features that are assigned to the medieval period. At Area B, this assignment is secure, based on the recovery of substantial quantities of diagnostic medieval pottery from multiple contexts. At Area A, the assignment of features to the medieval period is more tentative, based primarily on morphological similarities between the kilns and charcoal-production pits at Area A and dated medieval examples from other Irish sites. The critical question of whether Areas A and B represent contemporary activity or separate phases of medieval land use cannot be definitively answered with the currently available evidence due to the absence of diagnostic artefacts from Area A. Radiocarbon dating of selected contexts from both areas will be essential for establishing the chronological relationship between them.

The features assigned to Phase I at Area A include a keyhole-shaped cereal-drying kiln (C010), two possible charcoal-production pits (C012, C141), a series of post- and stake-holes tentatively interpreted as possible structural remains (designated Structure A for recording purposes), and various isolated pits and post-holes. The interpretation of these features, particularly Structure A, with emphasis on the ambiguities inherent in interpreting features that lack diagnostic artefactual associations.

The features assigned to Phase I at Area B are more numerous and include a possible causeway or trackway, a kiln, numerous pits and post-holes, and several linear features. The stratigraphic sequence at Area B is complex, with later features truncating and cutting through earlier features, allowing subdivision of Phase I into three sub-phases (Ia, Ib, Ic). The pottery assemblage from different sub-phases shows broad chronological consistency, suggesting that the entire Phase I sequence at Area B may represent a relatively compressed period of activity rather than centuries of continuous occupation.

Phase II represents post-medieval and early modern activity, securely dated through correlation with historic Ordnance Survey mapping. Phase II features consist of relict field boundaries that first appear on the first edition six-inch Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1836) and continue to be shown on subsequent editions until the mid-twentieth century. These boundaries were identified at both Area A (C006) and Area C (C205), demonstrating that the site was incorporated into an agricultural field system by the early nineteenth century. Short linear features interpreted as cultivation furrows or agricultural features also belong to this phase. The field boundaries truncate earlier features where they intersect, providing clear stratigraphic evidence for the relative chronology.

Phase III comprises modern features and deposits, including imported fill materials, modern land drains, and areas of ground disturbance associated with twentieth and twenty-first century development activities. Substantial quantities of imported material were identified across the site, particularly at Area A, likely related to construction works for the South-Eastern M50 Motorway scheme and the R824 Wyckham Way road improvements. These modern deposits overlay and in places truncate the earlier archaeological features.

Not all areas produced evidence for activity associated with every phase. There were only a limited number of features or deposits which directly linked each area, though the early modern linear features in each area were assumed to be broadly contemporary.

A total of 211 artefacts were recovered during the excavation, comprising prehistoric and medieval pottery, lithic artefacts, and metal objects.

The artefactual assemblage shows a marked spatial distribution, with the majority of finds recovered from Area B. The ceramic assemblage is predominantly medieval in character, with diagnostic vessel forms and fabrics providing chronological indicators for activity during the medieval period. The presence of prehistoric lithic material indicates earlier exploitation of the landscape, though whether this represents in-situ prehistoric activity or residual material incorporated into later features remains to be determined through detailed post-excavation analysis.

The scarcity of artefactual material from Area A is notable and has significant implications for the interpretation and dating of features in this part of the site. In the absence of diagnostic finds, the dating and phasing of Area A features relies primarily on morphological comparison with dated examples from other sites, stratigraphic relationships, and results of scientific dating.