County: Dublin Site name: BUSTYHILL
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0857
Author: Carmel Duffy, IAC Ltd, 8 Dungar Terrace, Dœn Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
Site type: Trenches, pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 698623m, N 725848m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.273783, -6.521333
A 750m2 excavation funded by Kildare County Council and the National Roads Authority was completed in the townland of Bustyhill in advance of the construction of the N7 road widening and interchanges scheme. The site was discovered during a pre-development geophysical survey (licence 03R150) carried out by Earthsound Ltd between 19 and 30 November 2003.
Four linear features were discovered during testing undertaken by Elizabeth Connolly in March-April 2004 (No. 473 above, 03E1731). Resolution was completed over two weeks in June 2004.
The site comprised a curvilinear trench, which described part of a circle, with two tangential linear trenches, one of which pre-dated the curvilinear cut and the other which post-dated it. Two small pits that both contained charcoal – one also contained burnt and unburnt animal bone – pre-dated the linear trenches. Due to the lack of datable evidence recovered on the site, the period and function is difficult to define.
