2015:093 - Brakenstown Road, Swords, Dublin

An excavation was carried out on a development site on the Brackenstown Road in the townland of Windmill Lands, Swords, County Dublin. The 1.75 acre green-field site occupies the high ground overlooking the River Ward to the south and is 150m to the west of St Columba’s Church (DU011-034). An assessment, geo-physical survey (Licence Reference: 13R75) and test excavation (Licence No. 13E0267) uncovered the remains of a circular enclosure in the south-west corner of the site. The excavation commenced in late February 2015 and was complete during April.
The enclosure had an internal diameter of 18m east-west by 15m with approximately 20% of the internal area and ditch truncated by the redevelopment of the Brackenstown Road along the southern boundary of the site. There was no evidence of a bank. The enclosure was defined by a ditch 2.7 – 3.25m wide with an average depth of 1.35m. The profile varied from U-shaped splaying outwards towards the top to a wider V-shape with a flat but gently undulating base. The entrance consisted of a 1.3m-wide uncut causeway facing east. The base of the ditch was filled with a natural accumulation of silts, clays, small stones, pebbles, some gravel and occasional fragments of animal bone. Half of a polished stone axe was recovered from the base layers. There was a noticeable change in the mid to upper sections of the ditch fill particularly in the sections on either side of the entrance. Large quantities of small angular stones (some heat-cracked), charcoal, ash, animal bone and coarse domestic pottery were being deliberately dumped into the ditch. A bronze pin, the bronze pin shaft from a ringed pin, the decorated head of a second bronze pin and a bone needle were all recovered from these deposits. The initial analysis of the pottery suggested it was souterrain ware from the early medieval period.
The internal area featured a large central area of in situ burning (3m north-south by 4m) truncated by numerous stake-holes, post-holes and a scattering of simple rubbish pits. Although the irregular distribution pattern of the post-holes made it difficult to identify neatly defined structures, it was clear from this evidence that a variety of structures were built on the site. The remains of a sub-rectangular shaped kiln were found 1m to the south of the central areas of in situ burning. The kiln and measured 2.12m north-east/south-west by 1.16m east-west and had an average depth of 0.45m. The central and northern sections were partially truncated by later agricultural features. The south-west end had quite a bowl-shaped profile becoming slightly more tapered towards the north-east end. There was clear evidence of in situ burning along the entire length of the feature with a noticeable thickening at the north-eastern end. The remainder of the kiln was filled with 0.24m of mottled yellow silty clay which contained minimal charcoal flecking and several small fragments of burnt bone. Concentrations of loose medium-sized stones in and around the northern end of the kiln suggested that this end may have been stone-lined but were dislodged by later agricultural activity. Several of the stones showed signed of heat fracturing. A cluster of post-holes was found in and around the kiln but the exact nature of the structure could not be discerned.
The remains of a square structure were found 2.5m to the west of the entrance. The uncertainty as to the exact form of the structure(s) was due to the distribution pattern of certain post-holes and slot trenches which made interpretation difficult. The structure was defined by five large U-shaped post-holes, one at each corner, which formed a structure with a length of between 1.8m and 2.1m, and an additional one along the south side. The internal area was characterised by a series of slot trenches and post-holes that likely acted as supports for a roof and other internal divisions and structures.
The remains of a second kiln and associated pits were found 2.5m to the north of the square structure. The kiln consisted of an oblong-shaped pit aligned east to west with steep sides and a relatively flat base. The western end was truncated by later features. The intact portion had a total length of 1.66m, a width of 0.52m and a depth of 0.18m. The surviving base and sides of the western end of the kiln showed clear signs of in situ burning. A third possible pit kiln was located just to the south of kiln ‘B’ and consisted of a pear-shaped cut aligned east to west. The kiln had a total length of 1.75m divided into three distinct sections with the western end severely truncated by a later gully. Two circular stake-holes with tapered profiles were found cut into the north side of the bowl (Diam: 0.14m & 0.07m). The truncated western end of the feature consisted of a shallow bowl-shaped cut with a diameter of 0.55m. This was filled with a deposit of 0.12m of grey to brown silty clay with small stones. There was clear evidence of in situ burning around the base of the bowl. Traces of a fourth possible pit kiln were found 1.2m to the south of the main square structure. The incomplete remains consisted of a slightly irregular pear-shaped pit truncated by the later gully. The surviving portion measured 1.3m in length and had a bowl-shaped profile. The tapered northern end was oval in shape with a diameter of 0.33m and a depth of 0.09m. The base of the bowl showed clear signs of in situ burning characterised by orange-red clay.
An arc of between four and six post-holes 2-4m in length was suggestive of a possible light structure located in the western half of the side. The post-holes were spaced 0.5–0.6m apart and were either oval or circular with an average diameter of 0.2m and a depth of 0.25m. They had straight sides and either rounded or tapered ends. Each of the post-holes was filled with a single lightly charcoal-flecked mid brown silty clay with very occasional small bone.
There was a very tentative suggestion of a larger circular structure occupying the centre of the site. The evidence for this was six large outer post-holes forming a semi-circular arc. The distribution pattern of the large post-holes was far from conclusive due to the heavily truncated nature of the central area of the site and the high density of archaeological features. A key identifying characteristic of the post-holes was their size, profile and to a lesser extent, their location. The post-holes forming the western half of the structure were oval or circular in shape with an average diameter of 0.4m and depths of between 0.4–0.55m. These post-holes had U-shaped profiles with one example having a packing stone placed against the western side and a small tapered stake-hole driven into the southern side for additional support. The two post-holes forming the eastern portion were slightly smaller.
A cluster of small pits were found 10-15m from the enclosure. One shallow pit was found close to the eastern edge. The pit was oval in shape (Diam: 0.75m x 0.57m, Depth: 0.32m) with a bowl-shaped profile. The base of the pit was filled with dark grey charcoal-flecked silty clay mixed with traces of orange oxidized clay. The upper fill of moderately charcoal-flecked silty clay produced a fine example of a small polished stone axe. Adjacent to the pit was the remains of a small fire-spot.
A section of the townland boundary extended along the eastern edge of the site. This boundary mirrored the line of the older ecclesiastical boundary associated with the earlier monastic site. This boundary eventually became a tree-lined laneway running north-south. In more recent years the northern section of the laneway was removed to facilitate construction of a housing estate. The construction of a second housing estate directly to the east and a house to the west of the laneway meant that additional sections were scarped away and filled in. A test trench was excavated along the base of the cut. Natural clays were reached beneath 0.3m of rain-washed sand and gravel. No features or finds of archaeological significance were found.
The preliminary analysis would suggest that an earlier prehistoric enclosure site was reoccupied during the early medieval period for light industrial purposes away from the monastic settlement and general community. Research at the time of writing is on-going.

Tullow Road, Carlow Town, County Carlow