County: Wicklow Site name: Boystown or Baltyboys Upper
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 07E1127 ext.
Author: Chris Corlett, National Monuments Service, Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government.
Site type: Neolithic house
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 698011m, N 708567m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.118647, -6.535805
The Neolithic house was first identified by the writer in February 2006 while walking the shoreline of the Poulaphuca Reservoir. The reservoir in question was created in 1940, and resulted in the flooding of some 5000 acres of former agricultural land and bogland. The location where the Neolithic house was discovered (at OD 184m) was formerly agricultural land on a gentle slope overlooking the King’s River, in the townland of Boystown or Baltyboys Upper. The shoreline in question is normally inundated by the reservoir, and only becomes exposed when the water levels drop.
In November 2007 a very small-scale excavation was carried out in order to assess the site (Excavations 2007, No. 2004). It was not until January 2009 that water levels dropped sufficiently enough to allow a more detailed investigation of the site (Excavations 2009, No. 857). On that occasion water levels rose before the investigations could be concluded. In January 2010 the water levels again dropped sufficiently to allow the resumption of excavations, and on this occasion it was possible to complete the excavations of all visible features of the Neolithic house.
The house was defined by a slot-trench, enclosing a rectangular area 6.6m north–south x 5.2m internally. The majority of finds came from the slot-trench and consisted of pottery and lithics. There were also three small internal pits that appear to have been refuse pits. Finds from the pits consisted primarily of pottery. Helen Roche has examined the pottery and found evidence for up to sixteen early Neolithic carinated bowls and an unshouldered bowl or cup. Among the lithics were a flint axe and a polished stone axe. Surface finds from the surrounding area include a saddle quern and a rubber stone.
Charcoal from the slot-trench and internal pits has been identified by Ellen O’Carroll as oak. Two samples have been 14C dated. Oak charcoal from the slot-trench returned a date of 3946–3791 cal. bc. Oak charcoal from a large post-pit that cut the primary slot-trench returned a date of 3786–3666 cal. bc. Allowing for the old wood effect, it seems most likely that the house can be dated to 3700–3600 bc.
