2010:844 - Lugduff, Wicklow

The excavations in Lugduff townland, Co. Wicklow, form part of UCD School of Archaeology’s Glendalough Valley Project of research and teaching in the area. This project, which aims to explore the long-term history of the valley of Glendalough, was initiated in 2009 with a combination of survey, excavation and exploratory environmental sampling. The 2010 season involved the excavation of two main trenches and three test-pits. All excavation, including desodding and reinstatement, was carried out by hand. Excavations took place from 23 to 27 August 2010.
Trench 1 (6m long north–south and 2m wide) was located c. 90m east of the shore of the Upper Lake and 15m south-west of the ‘caher’ (WI023–025) to investigate geophysical anomalies adjacent to a visible field boundary. The field boundary was half-sectioned by the excavation trench and consisted of redeposited compacted sandy brown/grey soil, 1.05m wide and surviving to 0.1m in depth. Two sherds of pottery and two iron nails suggest a 19th-century construction date. Associated shallow ‘ditches’ are also present. Underlying the archaeology was a series of sands and gravels, some very substantial, indicating the complex geomorphological history of the alluvial fan.
Trench 2 (5m x 2m oriented north-west/south-east) was located 20m south-east of the ‘caher’ and 10m south-west of a cross-slab and leacht (WI023–026). The trench was positioned to investigate two geophysical anomalies which were part of a group of four anomalies defining a rather regular square area. It was placed where the two substantial linear high resistivity anomalies, oriented north-west/south-east and north-east/south-west, bisect at a right angle. Excavation revealed a complex suite of archaeological features, sealed by a deep topsoil. A stone path, seemingly aligned on a medieval cross-slab base, was the main archaeological feature and corresponds with the north-east/south-west geophysical anomaly. This stone path appears to have been slightly disturbed by later ploughing. This may form part of a complex of tracks/paths including a broad stone track identified in Test-pit 3. Furrows were also identified, some of which pre-date the stone path. At the southern end of Trench 2 deep deposits of topsoil seal an old land surface. Test-pit 1 demonstrated that ditches and narrow slots were cut into this surface, suggesting good preservation of archaeological material.
Several artefacts were recovered during the excavation of Trench 2 and the associated test-pits, although most were recovered from the heavily ploughed and disturbed topsoil including 19th/20th-century material. Medieval activity is indicated by a sherd of Leinster cooking ware (mid-12th to mid-14th-century), a fragment of Dublin-type strap handle (late 12th- to late 14th-century) and a sherd of Dublin ware. A well-preserved saddle stone in granite was also recovered.