County: Kildare Site name: KILL A
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E0623
Author: Jonathan Dempsey, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: Field boundary
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 664162m, N 709731m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.134251, -7.041140
Four sites of archaeological significance were identified in the course of the monitoring of ancillary works for the M7 Heath–Mayfield motorway scheme, Contract 4, undertaken from January to June 2004 in counties Kildare and Laois (see No. 790, Excavations 2004). The site described here was resolved under the monitoring licence.
Uncovered during monitoring of drainage works south of the Kill road, Kill A comprised of a fragment of a ditch overlain by an irregular metalled surface. These features probably date to the post-medieval period. Approximately 49m of the ditch was exposed. This feature was orientated north-northeast/south-south-west and measured on average 3.1m wide by 1.26m deep, with a broad U-shaped profile, even sides and a flattish base. The base was located at a height of 67.888m. Two fills were present in the ditch. The primary fill was a dark-brown silty sand and this was overlain by a loosely compacted, dark-brown silty clay with moderate brash (branches and twigs) and occasional sub-rounded stones and flecks of charcoal. This feature runs parallel to, and is probably associated with, a trackway shown on the first-edition 6-inch OS map. At its north-northeastern end, the ditch was partially overlain by an irregular metalled surface. This measured 5.5m east-west by 1.9m. This spread was comprised of sub-angular stones that ranged in length from 50mm to 120mm.
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