2002:1951 - BALLYNABARNY, Wicklow

At the top of Ballynabarny Hill, within the land-take of the N11 Newtownmountkennedy–Ballynabarny Road Scheme, is a large shallow pond. Local tradition holds that it was used as a marl-extraction site for a local brickworks. As a part of the project, it has been proposed that this pond be filled to provide a more stable surface for the road platform. In light of recent discoveries at Ballynabarny, it was decided that the site warranted pre-disturbance investigation. The archaeological content of the feature was determined by carrying out a metal-detection survey and extracting cores of sediment, the former to record the location of all ferrous metals and the latter to ascertain whether there were any archaeological horizons identifiable in the sediment profile. This work was carried out in one day by Eoghan Kieran on behalf of ADS Ltd, resulting in the identification of a number of metal-detection contacts in the confines of the pond. The cores, which were taken from the axis of the pond, revealed 0.16–0.62m of apparently natural stratigraphy, with no obvious signs of archaeological activity identified.

Further investigation was recommended to assess the archaeological nature of the metallic material in the pond and to confirm the absence of archaeological activity.

Based on the results of the original survey, it was decided to excavate the western quadrant of the pond using a track machine fitted with a toothless bucket while conducting a metal-detection investigation of the excavated material, which was placed on plastic sheeting alongside the pond.

Excavation of the western quadrant of the pond confirmed a maximum depth of organic material of c. 0.16m and a further 0.2–0.4m of grey silty marl, and metal-detection of the excavated material as it was placed along the side of the pond did not reveal any artefacts of an archaeological nature.

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