County: Wicklow Site name: CARYSFORT, Macreddin
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR: 34:9 Licence number: 99E0150
Author: Malachy Conway for Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 731308m, N 694019m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.980821, -6.044589
The site is in Macreddin West townland, 3km north of Aughrim village, and is within the southern precinct of the historic town of Carysfort, established as a borough by Charles II in 1628 as part of the wider Plantation of Wicklow and developed as a garrison town. The townland name appears to comprise two elements, the first derived from Magh meaning 'the plain', reflecting local topography, followed by a personal name, possibly Cridan (or Credan), found associated with several holy men.
The proposed development area is within a green-field site bounded to the south by a stream and Macreddin Bridge, with the Aughrim Road (east), pasture (west) and an enclosed graveyard (north-west) surrounding the site. The north-east area of the site is occupied by a series of farm buildings, which will ultimately form part of the proposed development. The site lies on ground that slopes gently from north-east to south-west, with a marked hollow towards the south-west corner.
Monitoring of four engineering test-pits was undertaken at the site on 12 March 1999 before the archaeological assessment. No archaeological deposits, features or artefacts were uncovered.
The excavation of four assessment trenches did not reveal any soils, features or finds of archaeological significance. Trench 1 was positioned towards the south-east corner of the proposed development area; Trench 2 was excavated perpendicular to the north end of the Trench 1; Trench 3 was excavated further north-west; and Trench 4 was excavated towards the southern end of the development area.
Trench 1 (2m by 60m), aligned north-east/south-west and excavated within the south-east corner of the site, revealed dark brown topsoil 0.2–0.4m deep over orange/brown, sandy clay containing some stone, 0.4m deep, with interrupted spreads of grey, sandy clay, blue/grey clay and yellow boulder clay. A linear feature comprising a deposit of blue/grey clay 0.5m wide was noted in the basal orange/brown clay at a depth of 0.4m. The feature lies almost exactly on the line of a field boundary depicted on the second edition OS map of 1886 and is possibly the remains of an associated field drain.
Trench 2 (2m by 30m), aligned north-west/south-east and lying perpendicular to the northern end of Trench 1, revealed dark brown topsoil 0.4m deep, containing occasional fragments of natural quartz. This overlay orange/brown, sandy clay containing occasional stones.
Trench 3 (2m by 15m), aligned north-west/south-east, was excavated 20m to the north-west of Trench 2. Dark brown topsoil 0.4m deep overlay orange/brown, sandy clay containing occasional stones.
Trench 4 (2m by 30m), aligned west-east, was excavated close to the southern end of the proposed development site, 13m south-west of Trench 1. Dark brown topsoil 0.3m deep overlay a deposit of blue/grey, sandy clay containing occasional stones.
The excavation of the test-trenches to an average depth of 0.5m did not reveal features or deposits of archaeological significance. The feature recorded in Trench 1 represents the remains of a now-removed field boundary depicted on the 1886 OS map. Several fragments of unworked quartz were discovered in Trench 2.
Monitoring of topsoil removal from the field on the eastern side of the Aughrim road in connection with the proposed development did not reveal any features or deposits of archaeological potential; however, a scatter of 18th-century ceramics was uncovered, possibly deposited during manuring.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
