2003:2114 - LAUGHANSTOWN, Dublin

Monitoring of groundworks associated with the development of the Science and Technology Park (II) and district lands in Cherrywood and Laughanstown (No. 468, Excavations 2003, 03E0839) uncovered six potential archaeological sites. Separate licences were obtained for each of these (Nos 623, 03E1145; 470, 03E1182; 634, 03E1365; 625, 03E1366; 626 and 627, 03E1471).

The following refers to Site No. 3, a series of burnt features on the western slope of a valley at 64.7m OD. There was no stratigraphic relationship between any of the features on this site, but it is likely, given their proximity to each other, that they may have been contemporary.

In the north of the site was a subcircular pit (0.44m by 0.32m). It was filled with blackish-brown silty clay with frequent inclusions of charcoal (40mm deep). The ground in the base of the pit was burnt and pieces of iron slag from the fill suggest that this feature may have served as a smelting pit.

About 20.6m to the south-east of the smelting pit was a spread of burnt earth and charcoal (0.6m by 0.9m), contained within a cut (0.13m deep). About 11m to the north-east of this hearth and 31.6m to the east of the smelting pit was an oblong pit, 0.96m long, 0.54m wide and 0.38m deep. It was filled with midbrown sandy clay with very frequent inclusions of charcoal.

The only indication of the date of the features was the presence of iron slag recovered from one of the pits, which indicates that it dates from some time during or after the Iron Age.