County: Dublin Site name: Oldtown
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 13E0283
Author: Gill McLoughlin
Site type: Testing, monitoring
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 716626m, N 748627m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.474747, -6.243148
35 test trenches were excavated in advance of a proposed residential development at Glen Ellan Road, Oldtown, Swords, Co. Dublin on various days from September - November 2013. The work was carried out by Mark Moraghan and Gill McLoughlin for Gannon Properties in response to a condition of planning. Subsequently a programme of monitoring of topsoil removal was carried out from September 2013 and is ongoing into 2014 on an intermittent basis.
Two archaeological features were identified during the testing programme. The first was an elongated pit or possibly two intercutting or conjoined pits in T25 (716400 748900). The overall dimensions were 2.6m east-west x 0.8m and the fills comprised a mix of charcoal and burnt clay, along with animal bone and some fragments of burnt bone. Test sections excavated indicate depths of up to 0.1m. The second feature was a ditched enclosure measuring approximately 60m north-south x 80m (716470 748770). The north, west and south extents of the ditch were identified in test trenches but the eastern extent remained elusive. The ground dropped away to the east and the ditch may have been ploughed out in this area. A test section of the ditch was found to be 3m wide x 1.5m deep and much of the upper fill appeared to be re-deposited natural subsoil with some inclusions of sea shells and animal bone. Lower down the fill comprised grey brown silt and there were snail shells present at the base. No datable finds were recovered from either of the features identified during testing. The development has been redesigned to incorporate a park which will allow the preservation in situ of the enclosure site.
Courtney Deery Heritage Consultancy, 65 Mountain View Drive, Boghall Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow
