County: Kildare Site name: Fairgreen, Castledermot
Sites and Monuments Record No.: KD040-002 Licence number: 18E0429
Author: David Bayley, IAC Ltd
Site type: Medieval settlement features
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 678405m, N 685254m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.912400, -6.834294
Test trenching was carried out at Fairgreen, Castledermot, Co. Kildare as part of a pre-planning assessment. The site is located to the immediate east of Castledermot Village. The River Lerr runs along the eastern limit of the site and the zone of archaeological potential for the Historic Town of Castledermot is located to the immediate south-west (KD040-002). There are 48 SMR sites within a 500m radius of the proposed development site, 43 of which are listed within the Record of Monuments and Places. The closest site to the proposed development area is the settlement of Castledermot itself. The circuit of the medieval town wall (KD040-002001) is located c. 30m south-west of the proposed development area.
Test trenching was carried out on 17 August 2018 and involved the excavation of eight trenches, measuring 482 linear metres.
The test trenching has identified probable medieval activity indicated by twenty features of archaeological potential, nine of which contained medieval pottery. The majority of the features are concentrated in the south-western part of the test area, with Trench 3 containing thirteen features including four linear features, seven pit-type features and two probable wall foundations. Medieval pottery was recovered from a number of these features which are concentrated at the southern end of the site. Other linear and pit-like features were also recorded at the site, particularly at the central area where four linear features containing medieval pottery were recorded in Trench 8.
The limited nature of the test trenches precludes a more definitive interpretation of the form and function of the features identified. Given the artefactual evidence in the form of medieval pottery, the proximity of the medieval town defences and evidence for medieval activity recovered from other excavations in the immediate vicinity, the archaeological features identified on this site represent further medieval activity outside of the town defences.
IAC Ltd, Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Wicklow
