County: Kildare Site name: Clongowes Wood, Clane
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 23E0816
Author: Ian Russell, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit Ltd
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 687688m, N 729444m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.308010, -6.684248
The site at Clongowes Wood, Clane, Co. Kildare (also known as Castlebrown), was archaeologically assessed by test trenching. The assessment involved the excavation of three test trenches within the site, each measuring 1.8m in width with a total of 182 of linear trenches excavated. The test trenches were excavated to the natural subsoil, which consisted of a a mid-orangey-brown loamy sand with poorly-sorted stones ranging from pebble to cobble sized.
The historic maps were examined to identify the development of the site. The Down Survey map of the County of Kildare (1656-58), Barony of Ikeath & Oughterany, shows a castle illustrated at Clongowes together with an illustration of trees depicting woodland. The Ordnance Survey of Ireland, including the 6-inch (1836) and 25-inch (1908), Cassini 6-inch (1944) were also examined. The site remained as a green field with a field boundary ditch, identified in the geophysical survey and on cartographic evidence, being identified in the test trenches.
No archaeological features or deposits were identified within the excavated trenches. Consequently, no further archaeological work is recommended at this site.
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