County: Dublin Site name: Land at the Former Faulkners Industries Factory, Chapelizod Hill Road, Chapelizod
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 21E0609
Author: David McIlreavy & Paul Duffy
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 709923m, N 734119m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.345862, -6.349129
A programme of archaeological testing was carried out over the course of 3 days from 22 September 2021 at lands at the former Faulkners Industries Factory, Chapelizod Hill Road, Dublin 20.
A total of 7 trenches measuring 201 linear meters in total were mechanically investigated across the site.
Trenches 1 and 2 were through garden soils consisting of a light to mid-brown clayey sand overlying a compact mid-yellow clayey sand natural subsoil. The remainder of the trenches were through concrete which overlay a mixture of made ground and residual topsoil of dark brown clayey sand. Natural subsoil was mostly consistent throughout the site with areas to the south and east containing more frequent angular stone.
A number of field drains were identified during the course of these testing works. Two drains were identified in Trench 4 running east-northeast/west-southwest measuring 0.6m in width and 0.15m to top of loose stone. Another field drain with similar dimensions running northwest–southeast was noted in trenches six and seven, whilst a possible field drain was noted running east-west in Trench 5, although this was a wider drain (width 2m) with a gradual sloping side to the south and steep sides to the north, similar to how a machine-dug slot would appear. The depth in this drain to loose stone was 0.5m. Furrows were also recorded in Trenches 4, 6 and 7. These were 0.6m in width and had an average depth of 0.05m.
Nothing of archaeological significance was found here, and before the construction of the Faulkners factory all the mapping shows this area as agricultural lands. The single field boundary shown in the first edition map from c.1840 was in the portion of land most recently developed and showed signs of heavy disturbance on the surface from modern services relating to the existing building.
Testing has shown that the entire site footprint, with the exception of the two garden plots to the west of the site, has been previously stripped of topsoil and reduced in level.
c/o IAC Archaeology Ltd, Unit G1 Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow
