County: Dublin Site name: KILGOBBIN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: DU025-017001- and DU026-121002- Licence number: 02E1173 ext.
Author: Ines Hagen, Margaret Gowan & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Castle - tower house and Linear earthwork
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 719205m, N 724843m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.260530, -6.213282
The investigation of a medieval ditch commenced during excavations in December 2002 (Excavations 2002, No. 604) and concluded in March 2003. In addition, a section of the north-facing baulk was cleaned for photographs, resulting in the recovery of the partial remains of a human burial. The site was in the field immediately to the north of Kilgobbin tower-house, which forms part of the constraint area of the settlement of Kilgobbin. The field is in a lowlying area adjoining Kilgobbin Stream, the latter now culverted and covered by the boundary wall of Sandyford Hall housing estate. The ditch was revealed running alongside the eastern side of the present field boundary, which is a continuation of the beech-lined boundary to the west of Kilgobbin towerhouse. During the initial excavations, two cuttings were opened through about half of the width of the ditch.
Investigations in March 2003 saw the excavation of two further cuttings through the entire width of the ditch and adjacent low earthen bank. These cuttings were located along the line of the proposed service trenches. The insertion of the pipes was carried out in April and was monitored. The remainder of the boundary remains intact.
The ditch measured 14m in length but continued beyond the limits of the wayleave. It had a depth of 1.2–1.3m and an average width of 4m. It curved slightly towards the north-east in proximity to the stream, where it increased to a width of 4.7m. In the north, large roots disturbed the ditch and the adjacent bank was found to have been entirely reinstated in the recent past during works associated with the housing estate. Where better preserved, the ditch had steeply sloping west sides, gradually sloping east sides and a flat base. The lower ditch fills consisted of compacted, waterlogged, clayey silts and were present to a depth of 0.2–0.5m. Above this were successive layers of moist and loose sandy silts, originating as a result of erosion, agricultural activity and slippage from the adjacent bank. The uppermost fills, reaching a depth of 0.4–0.5m, represented the final stages in the silting up of the ditch. The ditch deposits yielded unburnt bone and four sherds of medieval pottery.
The low adjacent bank measured 1–1.4m wide at the top, 2.8–3.3m wide at the base and stood 1m high. It was located at a distance of 0.2–0.3m from the western edge of the ditch. Due to the presence of mature beech on the boundary, the upper bank material was severely damaged. Two possibly original layers were recorded at the base of the bank. They comprised a yellowish-brown, compact and dry sandy clay, 0.25m in depth, which was overlain by a 0.1m-deep layer of moderately compacted sandy gravel.
The absence of post-medieval finds suggests that the boundary may be associated with the settlement of Kilgobbin and the tower-house to the south. Due to the construction of the modern boundary wall over Kilgobbin Stream, no relationship could be established to the Pale boundary, which is thought to have run alongside the watercourse.
The partial remains of a human burial were found while cleaning a ditch section at the north-facing baulk. This ditch was cut into the western side of a medieval ditch and produced both medieval and post-medieval pottery. The skeletal remains consisted of feet bones; the remainder of the body lay outside the area of the excavation.
2 Kiliney View, Albert Road Lower, Co. Dublin
