County: Dublin Site name: Tully Park, Cherrywood, Laughanstown
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 21E0401
Author: Ian Russell, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit Ltd
Site type: Middle Bronze Age ring ditch
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 723186m, N 723191m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.244782, -6.154285
Archaeological excavation of a ring-ditch was carried out on a site at Cherrywood, Laughanstown, Co. Dublin. An area measuring 10m by 15m was stripped of topsoil under strict archaeological supervision. Following the removal of sod and topsoil that measured on average between 0.3-0.45m, the full extent of a ring ditch, C3, and a modern oval pit, C6, were exposed.
The ring ditch C3 was initially discovered during geophysical survey by Nicholls (15R0070); its presence was confirmed during test trenching carried out by Archer (19E0664). The northern extent of the ring ditch was truncated by an east-west aligned sewer pipe that was inserted sometime in the last few months. The ring ditch was circular in plan and measured approximately 7m in diameter (exterior) and comprised a c. 0.88m wide and max. 0.3m deep ditch with a concave undulating
base. The ring ditch found at Laughanstown contained a single fill. The lack of any other deposits within the ring ditch indicates that the feature was backfilled shortly after use.
No burials were identified within the interior of the ring ditch. However, the sole fill (C4) contained burnt bone and prehistoric pottery. The sherds were poorly preserved and in a highly fragmented state. These were identified as plain ware of the middle Bronze Age (c. 1400-1200 BC). The sherds were from a small,
plain, tub-shaped pot, in general terms the vessel was bucket-shaped with gently curved body profile and flat base and is a typical example of Irish middle to late Bronze Age pottery found on domestic funerary and ritual sites.
The analysis of the burnt bone samples retrieved from the ring ditch fill suggests it contained at least one human cremation burial of at least one unidentified adult individual with cremated dental remains of a cow.
No internal features such as a mound and/or burial were identified, these were likely destroyed as a result of agricultural activity. No entrance was noted;
however, it could have been removed by the truncation caused by the sewer along the north, or, alternatively, was not present.
No additional archaeological features or deposits were exposed or identified. The ring ditch and pit were fully excavated.
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