2003:484 - BEAVERSTOWN, Donabate, Dublin

An assessment, carried out in November 2002 at Beaverstown, Co. Dublin (Excavations 2002, No. 506, 02E1708), had established the presence of prehistoric features within the corridor of the main access road. The lands are being developed for residential use and are located adjacent to Donabate train station and Turvey Avenue. An archaeological complex (SMR 12:5), including a church and a tower-house, is located to the north-west of the site. Monitoring of topsoil removal commenced in September 2003 (No. 483, Excavations 2003, 02E1708 ext.). This excavation was carried out in October 2003.

The investigated area (34m north–south by 8–12m) was located along a gentle slope overlooking flat ground to the north. Twenty-eight features dating from the Neolithic to the post-medieval periods were revealed below 0.4–0.5m of topsoil. Two of these, a small pit and a spread of charcoal, were isolated features and could not be assigned with certainty to a particular period. Three features, consisting of two pits and a furrow, belonged to the post-medieval period. The Neolithic period was represented by a cluster of pits and post-holes and the Bronze Age by a section of a curvilinear ditch, which extended beyond the limits of the excavation. Three features, a small pit, a post-hole and a possible cremation burial, were located to the north of the ditch.

Neolithic activity
Two distinct but related clusters of seventeen pits and post-holes were revealed at a distance of 2m south of the curvilinear ditch. The features were distributed in a semicircular arrangement and spread over an area measuring approximately 8m north–south by 5m. The first cluster included a pit and six post-holes, four of which formed a square, each set at a distance of 0.15–0.35m from each other. The second cluster was found along the western edge of the excavated area at a distance of 2m south-west of Cluster 1. It comprised a pit and six post-holes, five of which were arranged along the sides of the pit. At a distance of 1.5–3m to the south-west lay a further stake-hole, a post-hole and a pit. Finds retrieved from this area included sherds of Early Neolithic pottery and some flint. The activity is likely to be associated with domestic activity, such as refuse pits and small temporary structures.

Bronze Age enclosure
A section of a curvilinear ditch, possibly representing an enclosure, ran through the entire width of the excavated corridor. Four cuttings were excavated to facilitate the insertion of service pipes, while the remainder of the ditch was preserved in situ. The ditch truncated an earlier pit in the west, which yielded Beaker pottery. Two features post-dated the filling of the ditch, a small pit, 0.4m in diameter, and a post-medieval furrow. Both cut the upper ditch fill. The ditch itself measured 15m long, 1–1.3m wide at the top, 0.4–0.6m wide at the base and 0.5–0.7m deep. It was U-shaped in profile and contained one main fill, which partially overlay two further localised deposits. One sherd of Beaker and a small amount of later Bronze Age pottery was retrieved from these fills. Three features were revealed within the confines of the enclosure, including a post-hole and a pit containing burnt bone. The post-hole, 0.3m in diameter and 0.25m deep, was located in relative isolation, but is likely also to be of Bronze Age date. The pit, 0.4m in diameter and 0.2m deep, contained a small amount of burnt bone and was U-shaped in plan, its sides sloping steeply towards a rounded base.

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