County: Dublin Site name: M1 SOUTH MOTORWAY SERVICE AREA – WEST: BALDRUMMAN 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A050; E4030
Author: Ian R. Russell, Archaeological Consultancy Services, Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda.
Site type: Prehistoric
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 718160m, N 755654m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.537530, -6.217396
Excavation was carried out on the site of two ring-ditches at Baldrumman 1 which were exposed during testing of the proposed M1 South motorway service area (West) near Lusk, Co. Dublin (see No. 281 above). The excavation was carried out between 28 May and 5 June 2009 for the National Roads Authority.
The remains of two Iron Age ring-ditches were exposed together with four possible pits. The first ring-ditch was circular in shape and measured 7.8m in diameter and 0.35m in depth. A gap in the western side measuring 2.2m in width functioned as an entrance. The primary fill consisted of a light-brown sandy clay and the secondary fill consisted of a mid-grey sandy clay. Four iron finds were recovered from the secondary fill – an iron sickle, a possible iron hammer, an unidentified iron object and the socketed end of an iron sickle. Two pieces of flint were also recovered during the testing phase which were dated to the Late Mesolithic/Neolithic period. It is likely that the flints represent residual artefacts from the remains of a temporary knapping site that was either nearby or disturbed by the construction of the ring-ditches. One possible pit was exposed in the centre of this ring-ditch, but upon investigation proved to be non-archaeological in nature.
The second ring-ditch was located c. 10m to the north-east of the first ring-ditch. It was oval in shape and measured a maximum of 13.5m in length (northwest/south-east), 12m in width and 0.47m in depth. A gap measuring 2.9m in width in the west circumference functioned as an entrance. The ditch contained three fills. The primary fill consisted of a loose dark-brown sandy clay, the secondary was a mid-brown clay and the tertiary fill consisted of a sterile grey clay. A radiocarbon date obtained from a sample of charcoal (identified as ash) recovered from the secondary fill produced a date of 60 BC–AD 80, which dates to the Iron Age. Three possible pits were exposed in the centre of this ring-ditch which may have been associated with funeral activity, though no burnt bone or other evidence was recovered to substantiate this.
The few fragments of burnt bone recovered from the fill of Ring-ditch 2 were analysed but identified as being animal and not human.
