2016:047 - Laughanstown, Dublin

A Ministerial Consent C715 was sought to monitor vegetation clearance from Laughanstown Wedge Tomb (DU026-024, National Monument 215) and record the condition of same. The programme of work was carried out in order to inform future design of open space around the site as part of the Cherrywood Strategic Development Zone (SDZ). The monument is currently preserved within a 60m diameter buffer zone located to the east of the M50 and north of the Wyatville Link Road in Laughanstown townland, Dublin 18. Groundworks for the South Eastern Motorway (M50) and the Cherrywood Business Park, between 2000 and 2005, necessitated the excavation of archaeological features up to, and surrounding this buffer zone. Subsequently the lands to the north and north-east of the buffer zone were cleared of topsoil and largely built-up with imported materials. The wedge tomb was fenced off in advance of construction and an inner ring of metal drums encircle the monument.

Upon inspection of the mound in May 2015 it was noted that the wedge tomb was covered in significant quantity of dense overgrowth. Following an on-site meeting with representatives of the National Monuments Service, the Office of Public Works and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, it was decided that the vegetation should be cleared under archaeological supervision to enable the production of a report on the current condition of the monument.

Clearance works were carried out over the course of five days in January 2016 under strict supervision. The vegetation clearance has provided a significant opportunity for the rehabilitation of a monument that has been neglected for a significant period of time. The clearance established that the bramble and scrub cover had not directly impinged on the structural stability of the monument. However, the cover has prevented the growth of grass across the mound. This has increased the detrimental risks from erosion and animal activity. Sapling growth and a semi-mature tree has caused minor disturbance in the north-west quadrant. This disturbance would only have increased within time with no intervention.

The remains comprise a sub-oval mound measuring 14.8m east–west by 12.6m. Removal of the vegetation allowed a previously obscured appreciation of the east–west orientation of the monument, highlighted by the rising winter sun. The surviving height of the mound is c. 0.7–0.9m above ground level. The southern and western flanks are considered to represent the best-preserved areas of the monument. A number of exposed stones and boulders were identified that may represent both disturbed and in situ elements of the chamber structure or kerbs and cairn material.

In terms of the condition of the monument, the vegetation clearance confirmed the scale of the historic damage on the apex of the mound. It also allowed the recording of possible horizontal incursions on the north and east of the monument, the former which appears to have exposed structural stonework. A full description of the current condition of the monument has been submitted in report to the National Monuments Service and Office of Public Works. At present the mound appears to be stable, although it is recommended that a grass covering be reinstated as soon as possible and in consultation with the OPW, to allow for continued preservation.

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