2008:382 - Clondalkin, Dublin

Excavation was undertaken next to the round tower at Clondalkin (DU017–041(05)), which is a National Monument (No. 32), and within a potential ecclesiastical enclosure (DU017–041(01)). 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. A programme of testing was undertaken in 2007 (Excavations 2007, No. 446). The archaeological work consisted of resolution of features identified during the previous phase of work, and further testing which was unable to be undertaken previously.
Cuttings 1 and 1a were located in the front garden of No.1 Millview Terrace. The cuttings were 1m wide and 23m long. A subterranean stone feature was identified in both trenches. It consisted of a stone wall, built using shaped rectangular blocks bonded with a lime mortar. The test-trench was excavated down to a layer of large lintels laid across the feature in a north–south orientation, which were then mortared into the base of the walls. The lintels were not removed as this would have made the structure unstable. The feature appears to be a post-medieval drain, possibly associated with the nearby mill. Two pits were partially exposed towards the south of the trench. The most northerly feature was oval in plan with almost vertical edges. No dating evidence was retrieved. An irregular linear feature was identified near the southern limit of Trench 1 which was likely to be a drainage ditch. This was located beneath a compacted layer of crushed red brick.
Cutting 5 ran from the north-west edge of the round tower towards the rear gardens of Millview Terrace. This trench was designed to indicate the existence or not of an enclosing ditch associated with the monastery. No archaeological features were identified within this trench.
Trench A was located in the south-west corner of the development area, where post-medieval truncation had been less destructive. The extent of the archaeological features was defined by a shallow south-east/north-west linear feature. Only the base of the ditch was identified, at a much lower level than the rest of the features on the site. The top of the feature was not identifiable due to the large amount of modern disturbance across the site. The main features on the site were a shallow east–west-orientated ditch and a shallow L-shaped feature which ran alongside it before curving to the north. Medieval pottery was retrieved from both features, and a ring-pin was also retrieved from the latter. Two shallow pits were located to the south of the linear features, both of which contained amounts of medieval pottery. Towards the eastern limit of the site were two large features which contained large amounts of charcoal, slag and some animal bone.
Post-excavation analysis is currently ongoing.