County: Dublin Site name: Mooretown
Sites and Monuments Record No.: DU011–018, DU011–019 Licence number: 08E0303
Author: William O. Frazer, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd, 27 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
Site type: Testing, prehistoric–post-medieval
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 716225m, N 747823m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.467616, -6.249468
Testing, carried out as part of a Local Area Plan, was undertaken in April 2008 across 67ha of greenfields making up the majority of the townland of Moorertown, Swords. Over 0.7ha of test-trenches were opened, partly on the basis of geophysical survey (B. Thébaudeau, 08R0026) and following previous testing by Theresa Bolger (Excavations 2006, No. 686, 06E0578), and nine ‘archaeological areas’ were identified, several of which were inter-visible and clearly linked.
One of these related to the southern part of the previously identified early medieval Oldtown ecclesiastical complex, excavated by Christine Baker (Excavations 2003, No. 654, 03E1080), including: a series of ditches and pits within both the outer enclosure of the complex proper and a southern annexe linked to it; the remains of a small round sunken-floor hut (4.1–4.2m diam.) within the outer enclosure; and a raised causeway extending away from the southern annexe. The presence of the round hut and the absence of medieval material appear to confirm previous observations dating occupation of the complex to a period pre-dating c. 1200 (ibid.).
Other archaeological areas included: a burnt mound/fulacht fiadh overlying a possible ring-ditch, with adjacent evidence for other prehistoric activity; a ditch containing burnt-mound material in its fill, near the aforementioned burnt mound/fulacht; another burnt mound/fulacht fiadh, adjacent to St Cronan’s well (DU011–018; no evidence pre-dating the 19th century ad was found at the holy well itself); a ringfort (evidence for early medieval activity only); an early medieval (horizontal millwheel) watermill site that continued in use into the medieval era; the curvilinear mill headrace with adjacent pits and spreads; another nearby curvilinear ditch and associated pits of uncertain age, nearby to the headrace; and the remains of a small medieval village or farmstead – possibly a grange farm – with less intensive occupation extending into, or resettled during, the 16th–17th centuries, nearby to the putative Glasmore Abbey (DU011–019).
