Well in Carrickmines Great

Breen (2012, 128-9) recorded the following details about the stone-lined stepped well (F1380) at Carrickmines Castle (DU026-005001-); 'On the west side of the building was a stone-lined well. It was constructed in a sub-circular foundation pit (F1244), which cut into the natural subsoil and truncated the earlier run-off feature (C2401). The well had a corbelled roof which would originally have risen about 0.40m above the surrounding ground level. The sides of the foundation cut sloped gently inwards. The pit was 2.50m deep. The wall (C3199) was built of granite stones of varying sizes. It had no external face, but in the interior there were seven faces. The north-west face included three granite steps—the top step was a threshold and consisted of two flat slabs of granite (C3075). The bottom step was more trapezoidal than rectangular, creating a slight curve in the stairway, and its southern edge was flush with the wall of the well proper, rather than protruding into it. Both this step and the one above were made of single, squared blocks of granite. The third step consisted of two smaller blocks. None showed extensive wear. The side of the well dropped vertically from the bottom step. The sides of the stairway were constructed of large dressed granite stones. To the right of the steps, the north-west face was 0.4m wide and built in drystone construction using smaller stones. A rounded stone protruded from the eastern corner. The western face was straight and 0.5m wide. The south-east face was 1.4m long, meeting the slightly curved south-west (1.10m) face at an approximate right angle under a granite lintel, forming a kind of niche. There was an acutely angled indent in the south-east face just outside the niche. The north-east face is 0.8m wide. The upper courses of C3199 consisted of larger pieces of granite and slate corbels, which would originally have met under a central capstone. Once the walls of the well had been constructed the remainder of the foundation cut was filled with stones and gritty sand (C2548). The stones were predominantly granite, some decayed, and were larger towards the top of the fill. Pottery from this context included Leinster Cooking Ware, Dublin-type ware, some Sgraffito ware and a single piece of clay pipe stem. These later finds are probably the result of disturbance of the upper surface. The primary fill was C4087, a soft dark grey clayey sand with frequent inclusions of small stones. It produced one piece of leather and one piece of worked wood, along with numerous animal bones. Above this was C4085, a dark brownish highly organic black silty sand with 25% straw. Leather and worked wood were found in this context also, along with frequent animal bone and occasional shells. This context was below C4056, a firm mid-orange brown highly organic silty sand with 40% straw matted throughout the fill. Finds consisted of leather, worked wood and a possible rubbing stone. The fill also produced razor shells, periwinkle shells, twigs and hazelnuts. Frequent stones, mostly of granite and limestone and of various sizes, were found. A very soft black silty sand (C4067) found along the walls is probably leached from the adjoining layers. Above these was C3198, a sticky, dark brown to black organic deposit containing straw, wood and shells (especially razor shells). This waterlogged deposit stopped 0.10m below the bottom step. Above it was a dark grey to black, silty sand (C3192) containing charcoal flecks and fragments of brick and mortar. It also contained frequent animal bones, post-medieval pottery (e.g. Westerwald) and the bowl of a 17th century clay pipe. This fill stopped about 0.10m below the second step. The uppermost fill of the well was loose, dark brown clay (C2612), which extended to a point about 50 mm. below the large diagonal lintel. It contained bone, a piece of metal and several sherds of post-medieval pottery. This context may represent a deliberate backfilling of the well before the construction of the wall (C1239). The wall sat on the threshold (C3075) and on the southern side of the well fill (C2612) where it covered the steps. Just prior to the building of the wall, a small fire was built on this threshold leaving a charcoal-rich deposit (C2684) on its stones and on the surface of the upper well fill (C2612), level with the threshold'. Breen, T. 2012 Report on the Findings of the Archaeological Excavations at Carrickmines, Co. Dublin - Carried out under licences 00E0525, 02E1532 and Ministerial Directions. M50 South-eastern Motorway Scheme 4 volumes. Prepared on behalf of V.J. Keely Ltd. for Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. See attached site plan showing location of well and photos, section and plan, taken from excavation report under licence No. 00E0525, 02E1532, Breen 2012, Vol. 4. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 3 January 2023