County: Kildare Site name: KILDARE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 98E0376
Author: Niall Brady, for Valerie J. Keeley Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 672735m, N 712331m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.156508, -6.912470
Eight test-trenches were excavated at seven sites within the historic core of Kildare town in advance of large-scale pipe-laying on behalf of Bord Gáis Éireann. The positioning of seven trenches was to ascertain whether the gates, town wall and monastic enclosure would be revealed at the depth of the proposed works (c. 1m). The eighth trench was excavated on the north-west side of Market Square in the centre of the town beside the cathedral and within what would have been the monastic enclosure.
Significant archaeological levels were observed at the latter site only. An amount of animal bone was recovered from a dark clay layer directly underlying the surface tarmacadam. No artefacts were observed. The thickness of the deposit was not ascertained, although it reaches below the 0.4m depth of the excavated trench.
A short stretch of pipe was laid along Station Road and Lourdesville. No archaeological deposits were noted.
'Rosbeg', Ard Mhuire Park, Dalkey, Co. Dublin
