County: Kildare Site name: Rickardstown and Rosberry, Newbridge
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 19E0793
Author: Ian Russell, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit
Site type: Bronze Age funerary activity
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 679356m, N 716503m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.193047, -6.812463
The site at Rickardstown and Rosberry, Newbridge, Co. Kildare was was subject to a number of assessments previously. These included a geophysical survey carried out by Earthsound Ltd in May 2016 under licence 16R0077 of a part of the site, and archaeological test trenching of the entire site carried out by IAC Ltd under licence 16E0355. The anomalies identified during the geophysical survey were targeted during the subsequent test trenching, when a total of 82 trenches were excavated, identifying five areas of archaeological activity. The features exposed were interpreted as a potential funerary activity dating to the prehistoric period, with the addition of a small-scale settlement features of uncertain date.
Monitoring of topsoil stripping and excavation of features within the five areas identified as a result of the previous assessments was carried out between January 2020 and May 2021 under licence 19E0793. The areas stripped ranged in size from 10m by 10m to 20m by 20m.
Area 1 was excavated in January 2020, while Areas 2-5 were excavated between late April and May 2021. Only one previously unknown feature was identified. It consisted of pit C104 in Area 2. In total, nine pits were excavated: four in Area 1 (C3, C5, C7, C9), two in Area 2 (C17, C104), a large refuse pit C19 in Area 3, a cremation pit C21 in Area 4 and an irregular possible pit C33 in Area 5. It should be noted that pits C17, C21 and C5 were recorded as possible cremation pits containing burnt bone, while C19 was interpreted as a refuse pit.
A total of 53 sherds of prehistoric/Bronze Age pottery and 5 worked flints were recovered from fills of pits. The features excavated appear to represent or are associated with Bronze Age funerary activity.
The west extent of the site was stripped of topsoil under archaeological supervision; no additional features were exposed.
The features exposed during test trenching and one additional feature identified during stripping of Area 2 were all fully excavated. The post-excavation analysis is ongoing.
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