County: Dublin Site name: COLLEGELAND
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 21:21 Licence number: 00E0316
Author: Stephen Reed, Judith Carroll & Co. Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 703728m, N 728427m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.295983, -6.443983
Archaeological testing was undertaken on behalf of E.G. Petitt Consulting Engineers for South Dublin County Council in advance of construction of the Saggart/Rathcoole and Newcastle Drainage Scheme. Two test-trenches, measuring 35m and 27m and both 2m wide, were excavated within the pipeline corridor where it passed c. 15–20m to the south of a ringfort identified in 1974 by aerial photography. The longer trench was aligned along the northern edge of the pipeline corridor, while the shorter trench was aligned at 90° to run across the width of the corridor.
Excavation of the trenches showed there to be no archaeological features or deposits extending southward from the ringfort. Typical stratigraphy consisted of 0–0.21m of pale brown, stoneless, silty clay topsoil over pale yellowish-brown, silty clay grading to strong brown, stoneless clay to a depth of 0.9m. At a depth of 0.5–0.7m was a band of manganese nodules (indicating a fluctuating water-table); below 0.9m lay dark grey/black, fine gravel in a coarse grit matrix. No artefacts were recovered during the excavation of these test-trenches.
13 Anglesea Street, Dublin 2
