County: Kildare Site name: BALLYSAXHILLS
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 95E0256
Author: Margaret Gowen
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 681833m, N 708432m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.120153, -6.777465
Archaeological test-trenching was carried out on the Phase 1 extension area to the existing gravel and sand pit at Ballysaxhills, Co. Kildare, to fulfil a planning condition granted in May 1995 on appeal to An Bord Pleanála. Archaeological test-trenching was undertaken to validate the results of the geophysical survey carried out in the proposed Phase 1 extension area. The geophysical survey, including electrical resistivity, magnetic gradiometry and ground-probing radar methods, together with intensive topographical survey, was undertaken by BMA with the assistance of the Applied Geophysics Unit in UCG in September 1995. The results indicated that few of the many anomalies recorded were likely to have an archaeological derivation as their deviations from the background values were relatively low.
Additional processing of the data was requested by the OPW; the magnetic gradiometry results involved the grey-scale processing. An additional report was prepared and the results produced a geotechnical image of a subcircular anomaly measuring 40–50m in diameter. This was located on a steep west-facing slope of over 9m across the anomaly. Archaeological test-trenching followed to establish the derivation of the image and other geophysical anomalies on the site using combined mechanical and hand excavation.
The site was tested between 22 and 28 November. Two trenches were excavated by hand, which revealed that the circular feature was geological. The remainder of the Phase 1 area was excavated by mechanically stripped long, slit trenches. In total, eleven trenches were opened. The results in all the trenches opened indicated that all the anomalies tested had a geological derivation and that there were no archaeological remains on the Phase 1 portion of the proposed extension area. No archaeological indicators of any sort were noted. There was a notable absence of charcoal, and ground disturbance evident in some trenches was the result of gorse clearance in recent years.
The survey of the Phases 2 and 3 areas will be confined to methods that are likely to present information which will give rise to the identification of archaeological features, if such are present.
Rath House, Ferndale Rd, Rathmichael, Co. Dublin
