What is recorded here

Ten metres of forgotten life in Kilmacredock Upper, reduced to a scorched pit and charcoal dust before the road took the field. No potsherd, no bone, no marker left behind. The heat is gone, the hands are gone, but the dark soil still holds the shape of a flame that someone tended.

Eighteen potential archaeological sites were found during monitoring of topsoil-stripping on the Celbridge Interchange, from April to December 2001 (Licence no. 01E0306). Most were resolved through subsequent excavation. 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. This site (Site 1) was excavated under the monitoring licence. It measured 10m by 10m and was identified as a possible fire-pit and post-hole. Seven contexts were identified in total. C5 was a rounded fire-pit with scorching at its base to a depth of 10mm. It was dug into the natural subsoil and filled with a charcoal deposit. No artefacts were found. (www.excavations.ie) Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.