2006:979 - RATHANGAN, Kildare

Testing was undertaken in the immediate environs of the site of Rathangan Castle as part of the preparation of an archaeological impact assessment of a proposed residential development. The work was undertaken in early April 2006.
There are now no traces of the castle that is marked on Noble and Keenan’s map of 1742, which shows it in the field south-west of Rathangan Lodge and in a low-lying marshy area on the banks of the River Slate. In the late 1980s, the owner of Rathangan Lodge recalled wall foundations to the south-west of the house, near the river where a number of irregular earthworks were noted. However, such earthworks have largely disappeared, as the field was subsequently landscaped as a small golf-course. A hatched rectangular area indicates the location of the castle on the first-edition 6-inch OS map (1837), but there are no such indications on the subsequent edition of 1908. The site is not listed in the present RMP or marked on the associated maps. However, its location is included in the Urban Archaeological Survey (Bradley et al. 1997) and the site is listed for protection in the Rathangan Local Area Plan 2002.
The development layout proposed that a public green space area be established in the environs of the castle site. Consequently, it was agreed with the National Monuments Service that the castle site did not require testing but that the area to the immediate north and east should be investigated.
Three trenches were excavated, all of which uncovered a moderately soft waterlogged peaty material that was 0.3–0.4m in depth. In general, this lay directly upon mid-brown marl/clay, the nature of which indicated that it represented ‘natural’ subsoil. However, below the peat in the central area of Trench 1, the eastern area of Trench 2 and the southern area of Trench 3, a c. 0.2m layer of relatively compact grey/brown silty clay was uncovered. This material incorporated a high percentage of pebbles, cobbles and small/medium stones dispersed randomly throughout. In addition, a total of 24 sherds of medieval pottery were recovered from the surface of this layer. It is suggested that the feature may be associated with the castle and may have been introduced as an attempt to raise the original ground surface above the flood-plain. The concentration of medieval pottery, along with the physical matrix of the material and the fact that the northern edge of the layer coincided with relatively drier ground, is the basis for this conclusion.
Reference
Bradley, J., Halpin, A. and King, H. 1987 Urban Archaeological Survey, Part VII (iv): County Kildare. Unpublished report. Dublin.