2009:350 - BARRACK LANE, LUSK, Dublin

An assessment was carried out on the site of a proposed two-storey house, wastewater-treatment unit and all associated site works at Barrack Lane, Lusk, Co. Dublin, in June 2009 (see No. 349 above). The proposed site is located within the zone of potential for Lusk. The site was also 132m from an ecclesiastical foundation attributed to St MacCullin and it lay between the inner and outer enclosing ditches of this monastic enclosure. A total of nine features were exposed in the test-trenches and the stratified finds of pottery indicated medieval occupation. Following consultation with the prescribed bodies, excavation of archaeological features was recommended.
Excavation was carried out from 29 October to 4 November 2009. The footprint of the proposed development was stripped to natural subsoil. All features of archaeological significance within the footprint were excavated. Four phases of archaeological activity were identified, the latest phase dating to the medieval period based on stratified finds of medieval pottery.
The truncated curvilinear ditch, C24, represented the primary phase of archaeological activity at the site. It extended from the western limit of excavation towards the centre of the site, sealed by 0.6m of topsoil. It had an exposed length of 6m, was 1.2m in width and 0.6m in depth. The exact plan of this ditch was not possible to discern, as it was truncated by the large ditch, C21, which spanned the site and was not visible in the offset trenches which were excavated during the testing phase. A possible grinding stone and flint was recovered from the fill of this ditch.
A large ditch, which truncated the curvilinear ditch, C24 (Phase I), represented the secondary phase of archaeological activity at the site. It was located east of the curvilinear ditch and was north–southaligned. Preliminary analysis suggests that the ditch was left open after its excavation and was filled with water. It had an exposed length of 19m, was 3.25m in width and was 1.5m in depth.
Phase III was defined by a single shallow linear feature, C7, which transversed the length of the site from north-north-east to south-south-west and truncated the eastern end of the large ditch (Phase II), C24. C7 had an exposed length of 18.5m, was 0.75m in width and was 0.12m in depth.
Phase IV comprised a total of six linear features (C9, C11, C13, C28, C30 and C32) and two pits (C5 and C19) which defined the medieval phase of activity on the site.
Five of these linear features were aligned east to west and one was north-east to south-west. The linear features had exposed lengths of between 2.1m (C9) and 13m (C29) and ranged between 0.22m and 0.4m in depth.
The two pits, C5 and C19, were subcircular in plan. The smallest, C5, was a shallow subcircular pit which measured 0.7m by 0.8m and was 0.1m in depth. The larger pit, C19, was located at the northern part of the site. It measured 1.7m by 1.6m in length and was 0.85m in depth.

All of these features were filled with what has been interpreted as debris material, which contained medieval pottery, animal bone, flint and quartz and shell.