County: Dublin Site name: Castlelands, Hampton Demesne, Balbriggan
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: 18E0716
Author: Liam Coen c/o Archer Heritage Planning
Site type: Testing, burnt mounds/fulachta fiadh
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 721184m, N 762580m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.599045, -6.169123
A test-excavation was undertaken at Castlelands to the south of Balbriggan in north County Dublin on a c. 24 hectare site in Hampton Demesne townland. The site comprises three fields sloping north-west to south-east overlooking the Irish Sea to the east and is currently set out in tillage. A total of 40 test-trenches were excavated by mechanical excavator with the test-trench layout primarily focussing on geophysical anomalies identified in a survey by Target Geophysics, Licence no. 18R0210, with others to assess the archaeological potential of the general area.
The subsoil in general comprised brown and orange shale sandy clay with heavier pale grey and brown boulder clay present along a gentle dip in the southern part of the site. This east-west orientated dip in the landscape may represent the course of an old stream or river. The four areas of archaeology identified, each the remains of a burnt mound/fulacht fiadh, were located along this dip. All four sites (Areas 1-4) were recorded as anomalies in the geophysical survey undertaken.
Area 1, centred on ITM 720985, 762409, consists of the remains of a burnt mound that has a later field drain cutting through it. Area 2, centred on 721038, 762417, consists of the remains of possibly two burnt mounds, with concentrations of features to the north and south of the proposed excavation cutting. Area 3 consists of the remains of a small burnt mound centred on ITM 721257, 762423, while Area 4, centred on ITM 721357, 762430, also consists of the remains of a burnt mound.
Archer Heritage Planning, 8 Beat Centre, Stephenstown, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin.
