County: Dublin Site name: ESSO, Cabinteely (Mount Offaly)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 95E0131
Author: Margaret Gowen,
Site type: Burial ground
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 723224m, N 724228m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.254091, -6.153310
Archaeological test-trenching was carried out on the site of a proposed filling station development at the Mount Offaly Garage, Cabinteely, Co. Dublin, to fulfil a condition in the planning decision. The site is located on the western, incoming, side of the main Bray road (N 11) some 700m south-west of Cabinteely village. Archaeological discoveries (from 1933) have been recorded in the Topographical Files of the National Museum and in all instances have been of skeletal material and one stone-lined 'lintel' grave which was inspected by Nell Prendergast in 1957. The National Museum records include a reference to the site, which was apparently known as 'Graves Moate', though it is not recorded as such in the Ordnance Survey.
Six test-trenches were opened by mechanical excavator to the level at which human burials became evident and then trowelled down by hand. A minimum of fourteen in situ burials, all aligned east-west, were revealed in the trenches located at the west; no burials were noted in the two trenches to the north of the site. There was no evidence in any of the trenches opened that the burials lay in an artificial mound.
The archaeological remains revealed in the test-trenches consisted solely of burials. No remains of coffins or stone lining/coverings were noted and there were no other finds or artefacts recovered, apart from one sherd of Cooking Ware which can be dated to the 13th-14th century. On the basis of the number and density of individuals revealed in the exposed section at the rear of the present garage building and in Trench 2, it was thought that the western, high, portion of the site may contain at least 100-150 individuals, and possibly more.
The association of this group of Christian burials and the stone-lined ('lintel') grave investigated by the National Museum in 1958 suggests an Early Christian date for the complex. While there are no documentary records to support this supposition, the name of the (immediately) adjacent townland, Kilbogget, suggests that an Early Christian ecclesiastical foundation gave rise to the townland name. This burial area may be associated with such a centre.
Full archaeological excavation has been recommended on the site in advance of the construction phase of the development.
Rath House, Ferndale Rd, Rathmichael, Co. Dublin
