2009:292 - BLACKDITCH: Elmdale Crescent, Dublin

Blackditch was an old landholding which belonged to the see of Dublin. One of the fields mentioned in a lease dated 1432 was 'Baron’s Meade’ which had a boundary described as 'The Trench’. It is from this 'trench’ or 'ditch’ that the placename Blackditch is derived.

Test excavations were carried out on an area of greenfield, covering 5.8ha within a housing estate, where further development was planned. A total of six trenches were mechanically excavated on site, including one through a crescent-shaped mound of earth on the east of the site. The mound proved to be a modern landscaping feature. No archaeological features or artefacts were uncovered during test excavations and the results indicate that the site was landscaped with imported fill and topsoil during the modern period, most probably when the surrounding houses were constructed.