County: Wicklow Site name: Kilgarron Hill, Kilmalin, Enniskerry
Sites and Monuments Record No.: WI007-087 (Enclosure) & WI007-021 (Unclassified Megalithic Tomb) Licence number: 17E0633
Author: Jon Stirland, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit
Site type: Pits, post-holes, linear features & a charcoal-rich spread
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 721353m, N 717499m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.194075, -6.183899
Test trenching took place at Kilgarron Hill, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. The site of the proposed development contains a newly listed (July 2018) Recorded Monument WI007-087 (enclosure) and is south of WI007-021 (unclassified megalithic tomb), both of which are scheduled for inclusion in the next revision of the Record of Monuments and Places. Testing was carried out between 10 and 20 December 2018.
The test trenches targeted features thought to be of archaeological significance identified in a Geophysical Survey (License No. 18R0009) conducted between 2 and 7 February 2018 and the newly listed site (WI007-087), identified on an aerial photograph (Irish Times, 6 June 2018), as well as testing the general area of the proposed development. Four areas were targeted by the geophysical survey, but only two of these areas were investigated with test trenches, Areas 1 and 2. Both areas were greenfield sites under pasture. A total of 13 test trenches (Trenches 1–6, 6a, 7–10, 27 and 28) were excavated within Area 1, while in Area 2, located directly to the east, a total of 17 test trenches (Trenches 11–27) were excavated. In total, 22 archaeological features were recorded, 15 in Area 1 and 7 in Area 2.
The newly-listed enclosure was specifically targeted with Trenches 3, 4, 7 and 8 in Area 1, however, nothing of archaeological significance was identified. The features that were uncovered in Area 1 comprised 11 pits, 3 post-holes and 1 linear feature in Trenches 1, 3, 4, 6, 6a and 8. A pit in Trench 1 was filled with a charcoal-rich brown clay with burnt bone, suggesting it may represent a cremation pit, while a pit in Trench 6a was filled with oxidised clay and charcoal, suggesting a function related to fire, such as a furnace or dump of hearth material. The features uncovered in Area 2 comprised four pits, one post-hole, one charcoal-rich spread and one linear feature in Trenches 14, 16 and 22. Of these, three large pits, the linear feature, possible representing a north–south ditch, and the post-hole were clustered together in Trench 14. The charcoal-rich spread identified in Trench 16 extended over an area measuring 6m north–south by 5m and the remaining pit, identified in Trench 22, was C-shaped in plan and filled with orange oxidised clay, suggesting it may represent in-situ burning.
Unit 21 Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co Louth
