County: Dublin Site name: Cappogue
Sites and Monuments Record No.: DU014–027 Licence number: 06E0228 ext.
Author: Melanie McQuade, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd, 27 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Site type: Medieval settlement
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 704824m, N 791002m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.857883, -6.406550
An area (150m by 10–28m) of medieval settlement around Cappogue Castle was uncovered during monitoring of topsoil-stripping along the route of the Ballycoolin Road realignment. This site lay to the immediate north and east of the recently developed Premier Business Park (Excavations 2007, No. 437, 06E0228 ext.). The site was subsequently excavated and evidence was uncovered for two phases of medieval followed by two phases of post-medieval activity.
Two enclosure ditches of medieval date were located on the western end of the excavation area. One of these was the northern continuation of the large, 3–3.6m wide and 1.88m deep, waterlogged ditch F25/F72 excavated on the site of Premier business park. A smaller (1.8m wide and 1.36m deep) curving ditch, F9, was located 2.8m to the north-west of the larger ditch, F25/F72, where it curved around the western terminal of that ditch. Ditch F9 was 15.5m long and a series of recuts had been made along its length, indicating that it was in use for a considerable period of time. Two shallow linear drainage ditches fed into the western end of the curvilinear ditch F9.
Medieval structural remains were suggested by a linear slot-trench on western end of the site, to the north of the curvilinear ditch F9. The slot-trench was orientated north-east/south-west and had been truncated to the north by a modern ditch. It was at least 4.7m long, 0.5m wide and 0.12m deep with a V-shaped profile. Other medieval features included a series of smaller ditches on the western end of the site and a series of furrows and pits scattered across the site.
Two phases of post-medieval activity were represented by a cobbled area at the south-eastern end of the site and a series of ditch and pit features spread across the site. The cobbled area sealed a medieval pit and a shallow linear ditch. It measured 10.8m by 3.2m and extended beyond the area of excavation.
Post-excavation analysis is ongoing, but preliminary analysis indicates that the finds include medieval and post-medieval wares, fragments of medieval leather and a coin.
Further excavations on the northern side of the existing Ballycoolin Road were carried out under licence 08E0032 (see No. 377 below).
