2002:1965 - DELGANY: Hillview, Wicklow

Testing was undertaken in April 2002 before the Hillview development in Delgany village. The site, measuring c. 22m by 28m, lies immediately behind the main eastern street frontage in the village, on a south-facing slope, just north of the Wicklow Arms and immediately outside the protected area surrounding an early ecclesiastical site (SMR 13:4). The first historical mention of Delgany is in an entry for 1021 in the Annals of Ulster, which records the defeat of Sigtryggr, son of Óáffr, king of Dublin, by Augaire mac Dúnlaing, king of Leinster, at Delgany, prompting speculation that Sigtryggr had a stronghold in the neighbourhood (Etchingham 1994, 121). By 1192 Delgany had fallen under the purview of Macgilleholmoche, along with Kellegar, Ballyman, Kilmaberne and Ballydonagh (Simpson 1994, 193–4), and by the beginning of the 14th century the Uí Briúin Cualann controlled the district east of the Avonmore River from Delgany to the outskirts of Wicklow. At around the same time (c. 1315) the Archebolds, who had already settled around the area, occupied nearby Kindlestown Castle and may have been tenants of Albert de Kenley (ibid., 210). Delgany was a centre of medieval settlement by this time.

Testing before the refurbishment/extension of the Wicklow Arms was undertaken by Rónán Swan in 1999 (Excavations 1999, No. 895, 99E0231). No surviving medieval features were found, although the stratigraphy of that site indicated several periods of renovation and reconstruction associated with the demolition of previous buildings. The 1999 site lay between the ecclesiastical site and the Hillview site.

In the present work two perpendicular test-trenches were mechanically excavated across the development site. Trench 1 measured 14.4m north-east/south-west by 1.8m, across the natural gradient. No archaeology was unearthed in this trench. Trench 2 measured 19.2m by 1.8m, down the hill slope. Two archaeological features were revealed. A feature cut into natural boulder clay, possibly linear and oriented south-east/north-west across the hill slope, yielded a possible broken gun flint from the top of its charcoal-rich surface. A second, larger cut feature at the south-eastern end of the trench contained several different deposits, some with charcoal and butchered animal bone. This feature corresponds to a former footpath (‘hollow way’) shown on the first-edition OS map. On the basis of the OS maps, the hollow way was backfilled between c. 1838–1908/9. Two mortared stone south gables of buildings border the Hillview site to the north and east, although neither will be affected by the development. The former dates from 1838 and 1908/9, and the latter pre-dates 1838. Both now form part of property boundary walls and are in poor condition.

Based on this assessment, measures for the mitigation of the impact of development on the archaeology were incorporated in the construction programme, so that archaeology unearthed will be preserved undisturbed and in situ, with monitoring of service trenching to follow.

References
Etchingham, C. 1994 Evidence of Scandinavian settlement in Wicklow. In K. Hannigan and W. Nolan (eds), Wicklow: history & society, 113–38. Dublin.
Simpson, L. 1994 Anglo-Norman settlement in Uí Briúin Cualann, 1169–135. In K. Hannigan and W. Nolan (eds), Wicklow: history & society, 191–235. Dublin.

2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin