1989:022 - COOLMINE, Dublin

Construction of the Navan Road Improvement Scheme led to the investigation of a possible enclosure in Coolmine townland. The site appears on the first edition OS map where it is depicted as a circular area with trees. The later O.S. 6" Sheet 13 shows the site, this time marked as a circle. The site was also identified as a crop mark. As the new road was scheduled to affect part of this feature, investigation was carried out. The purpose of the investigation was to establish the nature of the enclosure. This took place during a five-day period in September 1989. Prior to excavation there were no surface indications of a feature. Housing development in the area had caused some disturbance in the form of redeposited earth etc. A ditch was uncovered in three of the investigative trenches. The outline of the ditch was followed within the land requirement area, where it formed a semicircle approximately 26m in internal diameter. The three sections gave maximum dimensions for the ditch as being 1m in depth and 3m in width. The fill consisted of dark humic soil containing sherds of post-medieval delft and the bowl of a clay pipe. When the type of find recovered from the ditch is considered in relation to the fact that on the 1843 O.S. map the site appears to be one of a series of six circular features lying on raised ground above the Liffey, it seems likely that it represents the only surviving evidence of a tree ring. A watching brief will be carried out during construction. Work was financed by Dublin County Council.

29/30 Duke Street, Athy, Co. Kildare