Habitation site

The National Monuments Service's description

Eighteen potential archaeological sites were found during monitoring of topsoil-stripping on the Celbridge Interchange, from April to December 2001 (Licence no. 01E0306). The scheme was approximately 4km in length and ran from Celbridge to Leixlip through gently undulating land with a mixture of arable, pasture and woodland. The southern part of the scheme runs through an area heavily influenced by 18th-century landscape design, with avenues, woodland and tree-lined field boundaries centred on the early 18th-century house at Castletown.
The site (Site 14), a pit, was first seen in section on the eastern side of the deeper, central area of the excavated carriageway, approximately 0.45m below present ground level. An oval, stepped cut, with slightly concave sides, 1.9m in total length and 1.25m wide, cut the natural and was truncated on its western side by the track machine. It was 0.2m deep at its eastern end and 0.33m at its western. The base was distinctly stepped. The cut was filled in the deeper, western end by a soft, mottled black and red charcoal deposit. This was sealed by a deposit with less charcoal but with fragments of animal bone. It covered the entire area of the cut but sloped downwards to the west. Over this was a friable dark brown sandy clay with frequent charcoal flecks and animal bone. It covered the entire cut and was the final fill. Post-medieval pottery sherds, a nail and a gold ring were found in the topsoil. (www.excavations.ie)

Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy

Date of upload: 10 June 2011