2020:414 - Kilsallaghan, Dublin

The 2020 archaeological investigations at Kilsallaghan follows a geophysical survey (licence 17R0076) carried out in April and May 2017 and targeted archaeological testing (licence 17E0314) carried out by James McKee and Christina O’Regan of IAC Ltd in September 2017.

Archaeological testing was carried out in 2020 over the course of 6 days in September. The trenches targeted previously untested geophysical anomalies and open green space across the footprint of a proposed development.

A total of 35 trenches were excavated across the site measuring 2786 linear metres. The area tested is currently laid out as five fields all recently used for cultivation, with only low stubble remaining after harvesting. During testing the weather was generally dry with strong sunlight.

Testing across Fields 1 to 5 identified a depth of 0.3-0.5m of a silty clay topsoil that had been used for cultivation in recent years. This overlay a mixed subsoil containing yellow-grey clays with frequent limestone inclusion, bands of relatively stone-free clay and beds of limestone, tilted and now only present beneath the ploughsoil. The current layout is largely identical to the mid-nineteenth-century Ordnance Survey maps apart from Field 1 having been created by subdividing a larger field that originally included the field between Field 1 and the R122 to the west. Despite its proximity to the deserted medieval village of Kilsallaghan, the topsoil was notably poor in evidence of manuring other than a limited number of sherds of typical nineteenth- and twentieth-century pottery. Some field drains were noted in testing, all likely to date to after 1800.

Testing in 2017 revealed 10 areas of archaeological significance, which had been designated as AA1-10. Testing in 2020 identified 7 further areas, numbered AA11 to AA17 below.

Trenches 1 to 6 were located in Field 1 and totalled 518 linear metres. During the 2017 testing AA1 was identified in the northern area of Field 1. The 2020 testing identified an additional area of archaeological significance (AA11) in Field 1, 200m south-east of AA1.
AA1: Investigation of Trench 2 identified a 4m long slot trench. While nothing was present to give a firm indication of date, the presence of small pieces of fire-cracked sandstone indicate evidence for settlement activity, potentially prehistoric in date.

Trenches 7-14, 18 and 20 were all located in Field 2 and totalled 783 linear metres. During the 2017 testing AA2 and AA3 were identified in Field 2. The 2020 testing identified three additional areas of archaeological significance (AA12-14) in Field 2.
AA12: Investigation of Trench 7 identified two spreads of burnt stone and charcoal, at least one filling a pit. The burnt stone was small pieces of sandstone (less than 50mm in diameter) which appear to have been deliberately selected. The vast majority of available stone in the subsoil at Kilsallaghan is limestone and the use of the sandstone indicates the capture and transfer heat from fire to water, presumably to boil food (since heated limestone will turn caustic in water and render food inedible). The reduced diameter indicates repeated use. Sites where food (or other products) are prepared in this way are typically known as burnt mounds (or fulacht fiadh) and can date from as early as 3700 BC to the medieval period, although generally tends to date from the Bronze Age.
AA13: Testing in Trench 9 identified a 0.25m wide irregular deposit of burnt sandstone and charcoal within a wider band of clay, apparently as material redeposited into a later drainage feature. As with AA12 above, the burnt sandstone is indicative of settlement activity, likely of Bronze Age date. It is likely that the material derives from other features in the immediate vicinity.
AA14: The pit in Trench 11 was capped in clay and contained charcoal. This is typical of small structures created to make charcoal. This is often part of landscape management, such as harvesting pollarded or coppiced trees in the field boundaries and may be related to charcoal production for use in the brick kilns identified in the 2017 testing.

Trenches 15, 16 and 29-31 were located in Field 3 and totalled 380 linear metres. During the 2017 testing AA4 was identified in the north-eastern corner of Field 3. The 2020 testing did not identify any further areas of archaeological significance in Field 3.

Trenches 17, 19, 26-28 and 32-35 were located in Field 4 and totalled 730 linear metres. During the 2017 testing AA5, AA6, AA7, AA8 and AA9 were identified in Field 4. The 2020 testing identified three additional areas of archaeological significance (AA15-17).
AA15: The features in Trench 27 also indicate settlement activity although there was no artefactual material recovered during testing to give a better indication of date although some pieces of burnt sandstone were also present (but less frequent than the likes of AA11 and AA13).
AA16: The features in Trench 32 were distributed over an area measuring more than 5m by 3m. The fact that features C32.5, C32.3, C32.1 and C32.6 lay along the same line extending for more than 5m suggests they are traces of a structure. A single sherd of prehistoric pottery was recovered from an associated feature and indicates the presence of significant settlement evidence.
AA17: Further spreads of burnt sandstone and charcoal-rich soil were recorded in Trench 35 and indicate the use of the site for a burnt mound, likely of Bronze Age date.

Trenches 21-25 were located in Field 5 and totalled 335 linear metres. During the 2017 testing AA10 was identified in Field 5. The 2020 testing did not identify any further areas of archaeological significance.

For Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd