County: Dublin Site name: Goddamendy and Bay
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 15E0267
Author: Padraig Clancy
Site type: Enclosure and pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 708977m, N 742249m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.419091, -6.360527
Testing was undertaken within the townlands of Goddamendy and Bay. Three areas of archaeological interest were identified in the testing area (Areas A, B and C) and all correspond well with the geophysical survey results.
Area A comprises an oval ditched enclosure measuring approximately 41m x 32m and includes internal pits. The presence of the ditch was confirmed in two locations and had a maximum width of 1.8m and maximum depth of 0.55m and animal bone, burnt bone and charcoal were recovered from the fills. No finds were recovered from the excavated sections and as such it is not possible to date the enclosure in the absence of further excavation, however the dimensions of the enclosure are similar to a number of cropmark enclosures identified from aerial photography to the south-east of the proposed development site, which are thought may have represented levelled ringforts. These sites have since been destroyed and were built over; they are in the North Western Business Park.
Area B comprises a large pit measuring 2.9m east-west x 2m x 0.75m deep and contained three fills, the upper two of which contained charcoal and patches of baked clay.
Area C comprises two pits; a shallow pit measures 1.03m east-west x 2.3m x 0.08m deep and was filled with dark grey black sandy silt with frequent inclusions of charcoal mixed with patches of baked clay. A large pit measures 4.9m north-south x 2m+ x 0.5m deep and contains two fills. The upper fill comprises yellow redeposited natural and the lower fill comprises black clayey silt with frequent charcoal inclusions. No function was apparent for the pits in Areas B and C and no dateable finds were recovered from any of the features investigated.
A test trench was placed in the south of the development area in order to assess the area for any possible remains or an outer enclosure which may have been associated with the ruins of Cloghran medieval church and graveyard (DU013-008001/002) which lies 90m to the south-south-east of the site. Nothing of archaeological interest was identified in this trench.
A relatively new roadway also lies between the proposed development site and the ruins, and no archaeological remains were identified during the construction of that road.
Lynwood House, Ballinteer Road, Dublin 16
