2003:922 - KILDARE: Firecastle Lane/Malone's Lane/Heffernan's Lane, Kildare

Monitoring of excavations for a proposed residential development in Kildare was carried out on various dates in August and December 2003. The development site comprises a large block of land located between Malone’s Lane on the west, Firecastle Lane on the north and Heffernan’s Lane on the east. The site lies within the zone of archaeological potential around Kildare and is located immediately south of the cathedral, which probably marks the site of St Brigid’s 5th/6th-century monastic foundation. The cathedral was begun by Ralph of Bristol around 1223, was partially restored in the 15th century and heavily restored in the 19th century. The churchyard contains a plain granite high cross and a round tower.

Testing was carried out by Martin Byrne in the north-west part of the site in June 2000 and no archaeological material was discovered (Excavations 2000, No. 486, 00E0332). The stratigraphy recorded during monitoring of excavations across the site was similar to that recorded in June 2000. A modern layer of redeposited soil, varying from 0.2 to 0.9m in thickness, overlay light-yellow/brown silty sand subsoil. Wall foundations and cellars associated with buildings demolished prior to development were encountered in the north-west part of the site and three pits were revealed during excavations in the east part. No finds were recovered from the pits and the fills were quite sterile. The pits appear to be relatively modern and may be associated with a garage and service station which operated on this part of the site in the mid-20th century. Some disarticulated human bones were found during monitoring along the northern edge of the site. The bones were contained within a short section of the foundation trench (c. 2m east–west) and lay near the cathedral boundary wall. They were found in a disturbed context and all associated finds were modern. Examination of the relevant trench section revealed a slight dip in the ground level, possibly a result of excavations for the basement cellar located immediately west of the findspot. There was no evidence of burials, burial cuts or any other archaeological material and it seems likely that the bone was imported onto the site as part of a fill.

Unit 3, Howley Court, Oranmore, Co. Galway