County: Dublin Site name: Oldtown (Phase II), Swords, County Dublin
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 17E0104
Author: Kim Rice and Matthew Seaver, Courtney Deery Heritage Consultancy
Site type: Multi-period rural site
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 716394m, N 748512m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.473765, -6.246683
A programme of archaeological testing, monitoring and excavation was undertaken in the townland of Oldtown, which is located to the west of the Castleview and Ashton residential estates, and is bounded by the Glen Ellan Road to the south.
The assessment incorporated the excavation of twenty-three test trenches between the 7th and 10th of March 2017. A further programme of archaeological monitoring and excavation was carried out between the 28th of March and the 15th of May 2017, and latterly from the 21st of August to the 7th of September 2017. The test trenches were opened in Field 1 and Field 2, which were separated by a field boundary. The findings included the remains of an eighteenth to nineteenth century field boundary, which was orientated east-west, and is depicted on historic maps for the area. A large oval feature with concentrations of burnt bone and charcoal flecks was identified within Trench 13 in Field 2, while a northwest-southeast gully, with animal bone and charcoal, was revealed in Trench 14, which was in Field 1. The investigation also uncovered several plough furrows and stone-lined drains.
Archaeological monitoring subsequently took place of an area at the northern-end of Field 2, in advance of the construction of a temporary compound. The assessment identified three possible archaeological features, which were recommended for further investigation. The excavation took place between the 5th of April and the 15th of May 2017 and investigated a prehistoric pit that produced ceramics and lithics, while a deep well, ditches and gullies were uncovered beside Trench 13. Another two curvi-linear gullies were partially excavated in Field 1, which produced a granite quernstone fragment and an iron billhook.
A programme of topsoil stripping was undertaken between the 21st of August to the 7th of September, which was also archaeologically monitored. These works identified additional areas of archaeological potential that included a burnt spread and a possible prehistoric roundhouse in Field 2, as well as three pits and a linear gully. A series of curvi-linear ditches were uncovered in Field 1 that appeared to enclose the gullies that were partially excavated some months earlier. These areas were all cordoned off to ensure they would not be disturbed by construction traffic, and it is planned to preserve certain areas in situ and excavate the remaining sites in mid-2018.
Lynwood House, Balinteer Road, Dublin 16, D16 H9V9
