2021:793 - Charlesland, Wicklow

An archaeological excavation was undertaken in advance of the Hawkins Wood Residential development at Charlesland, Co. Wicklow. Archaeological monitoring carried out in late 2020 identified two parallel curvilinear ditch features (C1 and C2) and these were subsequently excavated.

The excavated parallel curvilinear ditches almost certainly correspond to a heavily truncated, but previously unrecorded, archaeological enclosure. It is hoped that analysis of lithic artefacts, and both charcoal and charred seeds from the C3 ditch section will shed further light on the dating and use of such an enclosure.

At present it may be noted that if the curvilinear ditch sections are extrapolated out, any enclosure feature may have described an internal diameter of c. 43m. It may also be possible to suggest that the relative consistency of linear distance between the curvilinear ditch sections could have delineated a bank between the two. However, no evidence of such a feature was recorded during the excavations.