2002:0479 - CARRICKMINES CASTLE, Carrickmines Great, Dublin

The agreed programme of works at Carrickmines Castle was brought to a conclusion on 30 August 2002. The excavation had been in progress for two years and two days. In all, c. 8ha was investigated. The team, which had started out quite modestly (consisting of two site supervisors and twenty assistants), reached a peak of nine site supervisors and 140 assistants over the final two months.

Given the size of the area under investigation, it was not surprising that six prehistoric sites came to light. These included a flint-knapping site of Late Neolithic date, an occupation site of the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age transition period and a pit/post-hole feature of Late Mesolithic date. Two adjacently set cup-marked boulders were also uncovered. These were especially significant given the paucity of examples of rock art in the Dublin area. All of these sites were fully excavated.

The main focus of work was on the medieval complex at Carrickmines. In terms of size and complexity, the castle is unprecedented, and most of the elements were uncovered and excavated. These included a revetted fosse (217m long ); two outer earthen banks and fosses; an earlier, ringwork castle-type enclosure featuring a massive fosse, in addition to an outer fosse and attendant banks; a millpond and mill-race; house sites; kilns; an industrial area; agrarian enclosures; the main castle entrance feature (with foundation levels of attendant towers); the ramp entrance to the gate; the Fair Green, an associated medieval village; and the course of the medieval road. In other words, the site contained all of the elements of a medieval landscape. The only missing element of the castle was the central hall or keep. Its remains undoubtedly lie at the heart of the site, in the immediate vicinity of the late 18th-century farmhouse. As this area lay outside the boundaries of the excavation, the opportunity to explore it never arose.

The foundation date for Carrickmines has been tentatively set in the mid-13th century (this may be adjusted on the completion of the 24 specialist reports now in various stages of advancement). Provisional analysis suggests that there were three major stages of development: (1) an irregular ringwork castle; (2) the revetted fosse-delineated enclosure; (3) masonry constructions within the confines of the earlier enclosure. In addition, there were a number of ancillary enclosures related to agrarian and industrial activities. Indeed it should be remembered that Carrickmines functioned as a manorial centre as well as a key military outpost.

It is beyond doubt that the castle ceased to function in late March 1642, when it was overrun by Dublin forces under the command of Sir Simon Harcourt (who was mortally wounded in the attack). It has now been more or less established that the skeletal remains excavated on-site constitute the slain defenders and their dependants. This adds to the importance of the site, given that no other massacre sites of the mid-17th century have been excavated.

The research programme is epic, given that this is a site that was continuously occupied for 400 years, indeed, in a reduced state, until summer 2000! In its prime the site constituted one of the main hubs of military, agrarian, trade and civil administration in south County Dublin. Furthermore, this study cannot be simply site specific. Carrickmines Castle was very much integrated in a closely related network of castles, estates, ‘hamlets’ and ports. To understand fully and interpret the occupation and material remains of the site, one must appreciate and expound the archaeology and history of the archaeological landscape that constitutes south County Dublin in the designated period. Needless to say, this narrative will be further complicated by the radically evolving political machinations that occurred throughout the period in question and especially in the 16th and 17th centuries.

St Lawrence Cottage, Strand Road, Sutton, Co. Dublin