County: Dublin Site name: Doddsborough & Finnstown, Lucan
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: 20E0170
Author: Gill McLoughlin
Site type: Burnt mound activity
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 702818m, N 734079m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.346930, -6.455804
The Somerton Phase II development site is located within the townlands of Doddsborough and Finnstown, Lucan, Co. Dublin. It is bound to the west by Hillcrest Housing Estate, playing fields and the Paddocks Housing Estate and to the east by Lucan Shopping Centre and Westbury Housing Estate. Somerton House, a protected structure is located to the south-east of the proposed development, however no works were proposed to the protected structure as part of this development.
Monitoring of topsoil stripping commenced on 27 February 2020 and took place intermittently until May 2021, with the programme being interrupted a number of times by Covid 19 restrictions. In early March 2020 remains of burnt mound activity were identified during monitoring and were covered and fenced off until they could be fully excavated. This took place over three weeks, from 19 October – 5 November 2020.
The burnt mound remains identified at the site are typical of Bronze Age burnt mound activity and fit in well with other excavated burnt mounds around the country. The remains comprised a sub-oval trough associated with a shallow curvilinear gully and shallow spreads of burnt mound material. A sample of hazel charcoal from the basal fill of the trough sent for radiocarbon dating confirmed an Early Bronze Age date range for this activity (2013-1778 BC).
C/o Courtney Deery Heritage Consultancy, Lynwood House, Ballinteer Road, Dublin 16
