2007:446 - CLONDALKIN, Dublin

Testing was undertaken next to the round tower at Clondalkin (DU017–041(05)), a national monument, and within a potential ecclesiastical enclosure (DU017–041(01)). The testing work is intended to mitigate, and also to help inform, the design of a civic amenity intended for the location. The site was located partially within rear garden plots associated with houses on Nangor Road and a disused pathway running between Tower Road and the Sally Park Paper Mill. The site has lain derelict for several years.

Three cuttings were excavated across the site. In all three cuttings the post-medieval deposits were encountered to a depth of c. 1m below the present ground surface, and were generally located immediately upon the natural subsoil. It appeared that the subsoil had been heavily disturbed across the majority of the site in the post-medieval period.

In Cutting 2 a north-east/south-west-orientated linear feature was located in the north of the trench. It measured 5.5m by 0.95m by 0.26m and contained three fills, all of which contained animal bone and quantities of charcoal.

There were several features identified in Cutting 3. At the southern end of the cutting there was a circular feature that measured 1.8m by 1.2m by 0.14m. There was a moderate amount of burnt and unburnt animal bone and charcoal within the fill, as well as several fragments of what would initially appear to be late medieval pottery. There was a smaller oval-shaped pit immediately next to this feature. It measured 0.68m by 0.6m by 0.2m and was entirely filled with a moderately compacted mottled yellow and brown silty clay.

At the north-western corner of Cutting 3 there was a large oval pit that measured at least 1.7m by 1.4m by 0.4m, although it extended further under the baulk. It was filled with a compact, well-sorted olive/brown clayey sand. A second large circular feature was located at the edge of cutting. It measured 2.4m by 0.98m by 0.34m and was filled with a mid-brown silty clay. The fill had occasional small stones and occasional fragments of animal bone throughout. A fragment of medieval pottery was found within the fill of the feature. A north-west/south-east-orientated linear feature ran across the centre of Cutting 3. It appeared to be cut through a clayey sand deposit that sealed one of the large oval pits. It measured 12m by 2m by 0.39m and contained two fills. The feature was quite shallow and it is unclear if it had originally been deeper and that the upper deposits were truncated by later activity.

In Cutting 4 a north-west/south-east-orientated cobbled pathway was identified. The pathway was 5m long, with a maximum width of 1.3m, and consisted of small rounded stones generally less than 0.05m in diameter. A circular red-brick feature located in the centre of the pathway appears to have been an attempt to repair it. The ruts from carriages were evident running along either side of the path. A layer of crushed red brick almost completely covered the cobbled path and appears to have been yet another attempt to repair and prolong the life of the path. The cobbles were laid almost directly upon the natural subsoil.

Brehon House, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny