2004:0451 - GRANGE: Baldoyle (Site 4:2), Dublin

Site 4:2 was found during topsoil-stripping for a new town development and was situated on a gentle north-facing slope at the western end of an esker. Initially, one oval pit was discovered and was thought to be in isolation. During cleaning prior to excavation, however, a second pit was discovered a short distance to the north-west.

The first pit was orientated north-south and measured 1.2m in length, 0.8m in width and 0.09m in depth. It was oval in plan, concave in profile and was filled by a single deposit of charcoal-rich silty clay containing occasional sub-angular and sub-rounded pebbles and frequent lumps and flecks of charcoal.

The second pit was situated 1.3m to the northwest of the other and was oriented north-east/southwest. It measured 1.22m in length, 0.96m in width and was up to 0.14m in depth. Like its neighbour, this feature was also oval in plan but had a flat base and steep sides. It was filled by dark-greyish-brown silty clay containing occasional sub-angular and sub-rounded pebbles, occasional to moderate charcoal lumps and frequent charcoal flecks. The charcoal was mostly contained within a distinct band towards the base of the fill.

There was no obvious oxidisation of the base and sides of the pits to suggest burning in situ, but the charcoal-rich fills show that they were ultimately used as receptacles for the by-product of industrial or domestic (i.e. cooking) processes. These features are therefore interpreted as rubbish pits.

Plough scars across the site attest to the fact that truncation of the pits has occurred over time, but the degree to which they have been truncated is unclear. No datable artefacts were recovered from the site, so radiocarbon dating of charcoal recovered from one of the fills will be used to determine the age of these pits.

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