County: Dublin Site name: POPPINTREE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 05E0644
Author: Ciara McCarthy, for Arch-Tech Ltd.
Site type: Pit, Well and Habitation site
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 713917m, N 741017m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.406988, -6.286683
Testing at the site of a proposed development identified four areas of archaeological potential (see No. 517, Excavations 2005). Archaeological features were identified and subsequently excavated in three of the four areas. One of the areas identified would not be impacted on by the development.
Area 1, 30m by 30m, was initially stripped of topsoil; this was later extended by 17m to the east. Several post-holes and one circular pit were identified. The post-holes form a line orientated south-south-east/north-north-west, 1.6m north of the circular pit. The proximity of the post-holes to the pit suggests that they are contemporary. Two pieces of struck flint and two fragments of burnt bone were recovered from the pit; these may suggest a prehistoric date for these features. The line of post-holes may represent a small fence or windbreak surrounding the pit.
Area 2 measured 35m east–west by 30m. Two isolated pits were identified. A sherd of later prehistoric pottery was recovered from one of the pits and a piece of worked flint, possibly a rough-out for a scraper, was recovered from the second. The artefacts recovered suggest a prehistoric date. Further analysis of the pottery may refine the period from which the features date.
Area 3 measured 35m east–west by 30m. A possible boundary ditch and a number of large pits, three of which have been preliminarily interpreted as wells, were identified. All three were sealed with a substantial layer of redeposited subsoil, presumably once they had gone out of use. The wells were an average 1.5m in depth and were filled with wet blackish-brown silt with moderate amounts of animal bone and organic material including twigs, leaves, seeds, hazelnuts and shell. The largest of the three had a wooden structure lying against the north edge. The structure may have acted as a device for retrieving water from the well, although detailed comparisons have not yet been made.
A wooden vessel was recovered from the well. It is of unusual design, with a rounded bowl, possibly carved from a single piece of wood and a lid. Two flat thin fragments of metal were recovered from the fill surrounding the vessel, which may have been originally attached to it. A large stone had been dumped on top of the vessel, crushing it, but it was in excellent preservation. It was recovered from the same context as the wooden structure and was contemporary with the use of the well. Further research of comparative vessels is necessary to identify the use and origin of the vessel. Moderate amounts of animal bone were also recovered from the wells. A preliminary analysis suggested that many of the bones had butchery marks on them.
32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2
