2002:0628 - LUSK, Dublin

During monitoring of Phase 3 of a residential development north of the medieval town of Lusk, Co. Dublin (SMR 8:10), two small, circular pits and a possible kiln were identified. These features were situated at a considerable distance from each other and are not thought to be associated.

Feature 1 was subcircular and was cut into the subsoil. Prehistoric pottery was present in the fill, especially at the western side, where pottery protruded from it. The feature measured 1.1m east–west by 0.92m and was 0.35m deep. Its sides were steeply sloped and, in places, undercut slightly. The base was U-shaped. Two fills were present. It is thought that the secondary fill, a light brown/grey clay sand that contained occasional charcoal flecks and two pieces of worked flint, reflects silting up of the pit while still open or in use. The pottery was in the primary fill only, which was 0.1m deep, comprised black/grey, charcoal-enriched, smooth, silty clay and contained frequent chunks of charcoal. Along the west side the slope was more gentle, and it was in this location that a pottery vessel was identified. Suzanna Kelly and Helen Roche of UCD have confirmed that the remains of possibly two Grooved Ware (2800–2400 BC) vessels were present. Flint waste flakes of varying sizes were concentrated in the fill around the vessel. In addition to this, a very small quantity of burnt bone was also identified in the immediate area around the pottery.

Feature 2 was visible as a subcircular deposit of mid-brown/grey, clayey silt measuring 1.32m north–south by 1.16m by 0.14m deep. It resembled Feature 1 in both shape and fill and was thought to be associated with it. On excavation, however, it was clear that Feature 2 had been cut into the subsoil, with vertical sides and a flat base. It contained a single, loose, topsoil-like fill of mid-brown/grey, clayey silt, which contained very occasional inclusions of charcoal flecks and two pieces of smooth, unworked flint. Abundant in the fill were fire-cracked stones measuring 0.03–0.15m.

Adjacent to a field boundary, Feature 3 was first visible as an hourglass-shaped, dark deposit. On excavation it became clear that a distinctive bowl and flue were present, suggesting a kiln. The feature was cut into the natural subsoil and was 2.3m long. It was 1m wide in the east, at the bowl, narrowing to 0.54m at the flue and expanding again to 0.94m at its western end. The cut had gently sloped sides to the west, with an eastward-sloping base toward the bowl. The sides became increasingly steep from the flue to the bowl, with a U-shaped base in the bowl itself.

Three distinct contexts were present. They comprised an oxidised clay, 0.07m deep, lining the bowl, an overlying primary fill of black silty clay with very high quantities of crushed and lumped charcoal, and a secondary, upper fill comprising a compact, light brown, silty clay containing frequent inclusions of small, subangular stones. Also within this fill were charcoal flecks, which were especially concentrated in the flue area. Four rolled and polished stones were identified in this fill. The rare presence of animal bone was also noted.

No evidence in the form of seed or metalworking remains was present in the feature to suggest the function of the kiln. Microanalysis of the primary fill may shed light on this.

32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2