County: Kildare Site name: PALMERSTOWN DEMESNE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 05E0899
Author: Ciara McCarthy, for Arch-Tech Ltd, 32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2.
Site type: Ditches, pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 691684m, N 723222m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.251440, -6.626100
Testing was carried out at Palmerstown Demesne, Johnstown, Co. Kildare, in advance of a hotel development within the curtilage/attendant grounds of Palmerstown House and entrance gates.
Seven trenches and an area of 30m by 30m were excavated across the proposed development site. Trenches 1–3 were oriented north-east/south-west and Trenches 4–6 were oriented north–south. Three linear ditches, possibly drainage ditches or levelled field boundaries, were recorded. The ditches have not been identified on any previous maps of the area. A circular pit was identified in Trench 6. It measured 1.28m in diameter and 0.19m in depth and had two fills. The upper fill was a mid-brown sandy silt with frequent amounts of charcoal. The lower fill was similar but with occasional flecks of charcoal. A possible chert knife and a piece of struck flint were recovered from the upper fill, suggesting a prehistoric date for the feature.
An area of 30m by 30m was stripped of topsoil in the vicinity of the pit to ascertain whether there were additional features present. Two pits were identified and excavated. No artefacts were recovered from either of the pits. Their proximity to the prehistoric pit suggests that they may be contemporary.
