County: Dublin Site name: Corke Little, Shankill
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 20E0562
Author: Steven McGlade
Site type: Multi-period
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 725805m, N 720385m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.218964, -6.116174
A programme of archaeological monitoring and excavation was carried out on a site in Corke Little townland near Shankill in south Dublin from March to June 2022 with additional works carried out in October and November 2022. The works related to the stripping of topsoil for Phase 1 of the development and followed on from an earlier phase of excavation in 2020-1, which dealt with 17 areas of known archaeology across the site along with 5 additional archaeological areas identified in a phase of monitoring carried out in 2021 (Excavations Refs. 2021:468 and 2021:496). Monitoring on the site will continue in 2023.
Monitoring works in 2022 identified eight additional archaeological areas (Areas 23-30) within the southern portion of the development, which were subsequently excavated. The road-take and associated compound area for the Dun Laoighire-Rathdown road through the development (Woodbrook Avenue) was also stripped and subsequently excavated.
A number of cremation pits were identified along the ridge of higher ground within the development. Pits containing sherds of prehistoric ceramic were also identified, suggesting additional probable Early Bronze Age activity across the higher ground within the site. Within a low-lying hollow to the west of the higher ground a fulacht fiadh trough was identified, which suggests this part of the site was marshy or flooded seasonally.
Two further metalworking furnaces were uncovered to the west implying there was a concentration of iron production activity in the south-west corner of the site.
Additional sections of the later prehistoric field system were encountered. A tiny Iron Age blue glass bead was retrieved from one of the ditches and is another indication that the field system dates to the late prehistoric period and is contemporary with the Iron Age settlement in Area 3.
Five additional cereal-drying kilns were excavated, three of which were partially stone-lined. One of the kilns was associated within a curvilinear slot trench representing a windbreak. Sherds of medieval ceramic were retrieved from the fills of this kiln implying it was later that the others uncovered on the site to date.
Archaeology Plan, 32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2
