At Kilwex, we believe to plan for the future you need to care about the past.
As works progress on Fingal County Council’s Ballymastone Recreational Hub in Donabate, the Kilwex team recently escorted Archaeology Plan around the site to facilitate their archaeological investigations and learn more about the fascinating discoveries being uncovered.
Archaeology Plan are currently excavating artifacts found during groundworks in advance of Fingal County Council’s Recreational Hub at Ballymastone, Donabate. During the excavation, several interesting archaeological features were discovered, indicating that people have been using the area for millennia. The range of sites found include a roundhouse, a large circular enclosure or farmstead, and an associated field system where animals would have been kept, possibly dating to the early medieval period (AD400-AD1099). The enclosure ditches contained evidence of shellfish, including whelk, mussels, cockles, and periwinkles, which would have been collected from the coast, just 1.5km away.
The archaeologists are also excavating a well complex and watering hole for livestock. The wet ground conditions have proven ideal for preservation. Timbers that can be dated have been found within the watering hole, along with organic remains like hazelnut shells, antler and animal bone. A 10th century looped pin and flint tools were also recovered.
Scientific analysis of samples taken during the excavation phase will help reconstruct and reimagine the lands at Ballymastone, showing what they might have looked like and how people lived their daily lives there in the past.
The results of the archaeological excavation will be exhibited at the new Ballymastone Recreational Hub when it is completed.
The Ballymastone Recreational Hub will provide an important new sporting and community amenity for Donabate and the wider Fingal area. The development will include a full-size athletics track, an all-weather GAA pitch, a drained natural-grass pitch and additional recreational facilities designed to support sport, activity and community life for generations to come.
It is particularly fitting that the archaeological discoveries will be exhibited within the completed hub—preserving the story of those who used these lands in the past while creating a place that will benefit the generations who use them in the future.
Archaeology Plan has both a Facebook page and an Instagram page. We encourage anyone interested in following the progress of this excavation, along with the many other fascinating digs taking place around the country, to follow their pages and discover more about Ireland’s archaeological heritage.
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