County: Dublin Site name: Hollystown, Mulhuddart
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 23E0625
Author: Ian Russell, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit Ltd
Site type: Medieval pits and linear features
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 708266m, N 743233m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.428077, -6.370880
Archaeological testing was carried out at Hollystown, Mulhuddart, Co. Dublin in August 2023 . The site is bounded by the Ratoath Road to the south, the R121 (Ward Road) to the east, the gate lodge and avenue of Hollywoodrath House to the west, and the lands surrounding Hollywoodrath to the north.
A total of 11 test trenches were excavated. The sod and topsoil were observed to consist of a loose mid-brown clay (C1) which measured between 0.45m – 1m in thickness. A number of archaeological features dating to the medieval period were identified within Trenches 1 and 8. In Trench 1 a linear feature (C3), a pit (C4) and a linear feature (C5) were identified. A body sherd (23E0625:3:1) and a rim sherd (23E0256:4:1) of medieval pottery were recovered from the fill of the linear feature and pit. A third linear feature (C13) was also identified at the western end of Trench 10, which although undated, may also be associated with the features identified in Trench 1.
Additional test trenches, Trenches 9-11, were excavated adjacent to Trench 1 to determine if any additional features might be present, but none were identified. In addition, a pit (C9) and three linear features (C10-C12) were also identified within Trench 8. A body sherd of medieval pottery (23E0625:10:1) was recovered from the fill of one of the linear features (C10). A ditch (C8) identified within Trench 7 contained a number of animal bone fragments and is also likely to be archaeological in nature, potentially medieval in date and may represent a field boundary or similar.
The area of the site to the north and northeast appears to have originally been boggy or wet ground as a large amount of modern deposition (C6) in the form of coarse brown clay, stone and brick had been deposited over a wide area to considerable depth. Attempts to excavate beneath this layer to identify the presence and depth of natural subsoils were unsuccessful for the most part, though the natural brown peaty clay (C14) was partially exposed in Trench 4 at a depth of 1.4m before natural groundwater flooded the trench.
Unit 21 Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth. A92 DH99.
