County: Dublin Site name: LUSK
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E1719
Author: Angela Wallace, on behalf of Arch-Tech Ltd.
Site type: Pit, Enclosure and Field system
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 720625m, N 754521m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.526795, -6.180673
Monitoring was carried out in November 2002 on Phase 1A of an extensive residential housing development. The development is 250m west of the boundary of the zone of archaeological potential of the recorded medieval town of Lusk (SMR 8:10). The round tower is the only extant structure of the Early Christian monastery. This is visible to the east of the site.
Several features were revealed during the monitoring. Three irregularly shaped pit features with fills of burnt stone and charcoal were exposed cut into the subsoil. The pits had the appearance of fulacht fiadh remains; however, the burnt material was restricted to the three pits. All three were excavated. No material was recovered to indicate their date or function.
A number of substantial linear ditches and a possible stone surface were revealed in the south-eastern part of the site. Several sections were excavated across these features, but no material was recovered to indicate their date or function. Because of the poor drainage in the area, it seems likely that the larger ditches are the remnants of old drainage channels or perhaps of an old field system. The smaller cuts or gullies exposed may represent furrows, and the rough stone surface may be an old entrance feature in a former field system.
32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2
