County: Dublin Site name: NEWTOWN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E1450 ext.
Author: Holger Schweitzer, for CRDS Ltd.
Site type: Burnt spread
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 711740m, N 742459m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.420399, -6.318904
The site (Site 1) was excavated as part of the archaeological mitigation in advance of the N2 Finglas–Ashbourne road scheme (Appendix II) between 6 and 20 April 2004. It was located within the townland of Newtown, Co. Dublin. The site was formerly within an open golf course and is located c. 0.5km north of the M50 Finglas–Ashbourne interchange adjacent to the east of the existing N2. Due to the location of the site within a former golf course, the terrain has been heavily landscaped. The entire site was contained within the footprint of the road-take, with all exposed features of archaeological significance fully excavated.
The removed topsoil consisted of dark loamy soil and varied in depth between 0.2m and 1.4m, with anaverage depth of c. 0.4m. The natural subsoil consisted of a layer of yellowish-brown silty clay.
Excavation was carried out in two separate areas separated by a distance of c. 15m. Area 1 measured c. 20m by 13m and contained the remains of a spread of burnt-mound material, measuring 3.5m by c. 10m with an average depth of 0.15m, which was located adjacent to the south of a natural waterlogged peat basin. This basin measured c. 15m east-west and extended beyond the limit of excavation to the north. Two pits and a subcircular trough containing heat-shattered stones and charcoal-rich deposits were excavated in the vicinity of the burnt spread. No archaeological finds were encountered during the excavation. Within the peat basin a large number of preserved timbers were encountered. While most of the wood consisted of natural brushwood and branch material, two large split roundwood logs were positioned roughly parallel to each other. Although no evidence of woodworking was apparent, it cannot be ruled out that they may have been deliberately deposited within the basin to serve as an artificial subdivision, possibly contemporary with the burnt spread.
Area 2, c. 15m to the north of Area 1, covered an area measuring in total 24m2. The only archaeological feature encountered here was a small and shallow isolated deposit of burnt-mound material. No finds were recovered. The proximity and nature of this deposit could indicate that it was contemporary with the burnt-mound material in Area 1.
Unit 4, Dundrum Business Park, Dublin 14
