County: Dublin Site name: THE OLD BURIAL GROUND, Saggart
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 21:34 Licence number: 99E0229
Author: Franc Myles for Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 703766m, N 726649m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.280000, -6.444000
Test-trenching was undertaken in July on behalf of South Dublin County Council, which intends to extend the existing graveyard to the field to the north-east. The graveyard would appear to incorporate an Early Christian ecclesiastical enclosure within its southern extent.
Two trenches were mechanically opened across the proposed extension. The first was 105m long and extended from the south-eastern corner of the field (adjacent to the early enclosure) to the north-eastern corner. The second trench ran at a right angle to the first and extended for 50m into the north-western corner of the field. They were both opened to double the width of the bucket (i.e. 1.2m).
An examination of the sections did not reveal any evidence for the existence of an outer enclosure associated with the existing site. No bones were recovered from either of the trenches. The evidence from the trenching would therefore indicate that the extent of the Early Christian site is probably within the confines of the enclosure as it exists today and that associated occupation to the north-east of the site (if any such settlement existed) has been obliterated by land improvement.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
