What is recorded here

Crinstown held a vast medieval courtyard where people lived from the thirteenth to sixteenth century. The discovery emerged during motorway construction, revealing one hundred and twenty metres of cobbles burdened with cooking vessels and iron fragments. Two deep ditches flanked the stone surface, marking boundaries for a community that thrived before modern roads erased their footprint.

In 1987, an archaeological excavation was conducted in conjunction with the construction of the Kilcock-Leixlip motorway bypass. According to Keeley (1991, 168), 'The site (was) identified from an aerial photograph … Evidence of medieval occupation was uncovered … represented by a cobbled area (dims. L c. 120m; Wth c. 120m). A habitation layer lay directly on the cobbles and consisted of a brown humic material with inclusions of fragmentary iron objects and a large amount of ceramic sherds … of both cooking and glazed wares with a dating range from the 13th-16th century.' Additional information is available on www.excavations.ie (search by townland), 'Two large ditches were also revealed. Ditch 'H' lay to the west of the cobbling and was 4m (max.) wide by 0.95m deep at subsoil level. Finds from this ditch reflect a similar date to those found associated with the cobbling. Ditch 'I' lay just east of the cobbling and was 2.65m (max.) wide by 0.85m deep at subsoil level. Five modern drains were also uncovered.' Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011

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