County: Kildare Site name: BISHOPSLANE (SITE 2)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 29:11 Licence number: 97E370 and ext.
Author: Alan Hayden, Archaeological Projects Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 693930m, N 709631m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.128939, -6.596441
The site lies close to a 19th-century church and graveyard, in which there are a number of medieval graveslabs. The exact site of the medieval borough of Ballymore, which was owned by the FitzEustaces in the 14th century, was not previously known but it was thought to lie in the vicinity of this church.
The site of the proposed development (a bungalow) measured 80m by 25m. Seven trenches were opened on 26 September 1997 using a JCB equipped with a toothless bucket. Medieval features, deposits and finds occurred in all the trenches excavated, at depths ranging from 0.3m to 1.2m below modern ground level. The features appeared to represent structures at the north and south ends of the site, with an area containing cultivation furrows and pits in between.
After discussions with the relevant bodies, development was allowed to proceed but with several changes to foundation design. The bungalow was erected on piled foundations, and all services and the driveway to the house were laid above the modern ground level in soil introduced onto the site. Before piling and construction was undertaken, the areas to be built on were to be stripped of topsoil and covered in terram and stone to protect the underlying deposits. Monitoring of this work yielded only a few sherds of medieval pottery and none of the medieval deposits or features were disturbed.
Funding was provided by the site owners.
25a Eaton Square, Terenure, Dublin 6W
