2021:531 - Crodaun, Celbridge, Kildare

Archaeological monitoring of construction groundworks was undertaken in fulfilment of a condition of planning permission. Groundworks for the development were carried out over a number of months by tracked excavators under archaeological supervision. While the majority of the site was stripped of topsoil with the use of grading buckets, significant portions were stripped with the use of toothed buckets and bulldozers too, particularly in the first few weeks. The monitoring took place from 22 April - 25 June 2021 on an intermittent basis according to the construction schedule. Topsoil was between 0.4-0.6m in depth. The remains of numerous cultivation/plough furrows and occasional field boundaries were visible in the subsoil across the site. None were deemed archaeologically significant. Frequent pottery sherds, mostly of white-glazed porcelain types or black-glazed with a red fabric, were identified from the topsoil and on the exposed stripped surface. Alongside the evidence for cultivation/plough furrows they attest to the site’s previous use for faming over the generations. No features, deposits or material of archaeological significance were identified during the course of monitoring.

Unit 8 Beat Centre, Balbriggan, Co. Dublin