County: Dublin Site name: ROSEPARK, Balrothery
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 5:05708, 5:05707 Licence number: 99E0155 ext.
Author: Christine Baker, Arch-Tech Ltd.
Site type: Hilltop enclosure and Kiln - corn-drying
Period/Dating: Early Medieval (AD 400-AD 1099)
ITM: E 720143m, N 761086m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.585873, -6.185411
It was recommended that, should this development proceed in its proposed form, the entire area would need to be excavated. As a result of discussions with the National Monuments and Historic Properties Service and the developer, it was decided to proceed in a phased manner. Phase I was the south-western quadrant of the site, an area measuring a maximum of c. 95m east-west and 70m north-south, which encompassed c. 1.64 acres and rose from a level of 56m OD to the highest area of 58m OD. Soil-stripping took place over three-and-a-half weeks until groundworks were stopped at the request of the developer.
The topsoil varied in depth from a maximum of 1.3m along the southern field boundary to only 0.4m at the summit of the hill. It consisted of a mid- to dark brown, silty clay with moderate small stone inclusions and overlay a yellowish-orange, sandy natural. Most of the features were cut into natural subsoil.
A complex series of enclosures and associated occupation features (including two possible corn-drying kilns) was found, many of which had been previously indicated in the testing programme (No. 162 Excavations 1999).
The soil-stripping revealed clear evidence for multiple phases of concentric enclosing features in the exposed area, which seem to be replicated in the undisturbed portions of the site. Extensive evidence for occupation and associated activity has been identified across the site, concentrated on the hill crest. To date, only a portion of the inner enclosure has been exposed, and the enclosing ditches have been subject to very limited investigation. It is difficult to offer conclusive statements about the date of this site, but the presence of a small iron bill-hook of probable later first millennium AD date, together with the generally aceramic character of the finds, indicates that this is likely to be an enclosed settlement of the Early Christian period. Further, the large concentric enclosing features mark this site as being of a morphological type previously known only from aerial photography. The multiple phases of enclosures would also suggest that the site was occupied for some time. These conclusions indicate that this is a site of great archaeological importance, and any future works must take this into account.
32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin
