2018:379 - Ticknick Park (Phase 1), Dublin

Monitoring was carried out for all groundworks during the construction phase of Ticknick Park (Phase 1) in the townlands of Ticknick and Laughanstown, Co. Dublin. It was undertaken under a reactivation of licence 15E0469, in response to planning conditions attached to the proposed development (Reg. Ref. DZ16A/0570). Monitoring followed on from a series of previous investigations including Impact Assessment, geophysical survey, test testing and excavation.

The current phase of archaeological investigation included monitoring of topsoil stripping for pitches and access roads, and ground disturbances such as drainage, services, attenuation and tree planting. The works commenced in May 2017 and continued intermittently until March 2018.

No archaeological remains were identified during the stripping of the access road where passing through the zone of notification for field system DU026-071. This area comprised very thin topsoil overlying bedrock which was exposed in places. It is possible that any remains associated with the monument in this location may have been removed through natural denuding of the soils.

A construction exclusion zone was established around the enclosure DU026-163 to the immediate east of the access road which prevented any impact from traffic or groundworks.

No features of archaeological significance were exposed during topsoil stripping in the pitch footprints or associated works. Excavation of scattered ephemeral features identified during previous testing in AA2, AA5 and AA6 indicated that the archaeology had been heavily truncated by centuries of intensive agricultural practices. The programme of monitoring has confirmed the results of the geophysical survey undertaken in 2015.

The construction exclusion zone established around the recently identified prehistoric and early medieval settlement sites (designated as AA1 and AA3) was maintained and no works impacted on the subsurface remains preserved within.

Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park