Greystones Southern Access Route and the N11 Kilpedder Interchange

The Greystones Southern Access Route and the Kilpedder Interchange were constructed by Wicklow County Council to connect Greystones and Kilpedder, Co. Wicklow to the N11 running south from Dublin. Archaeological monitoring and resolution of sites for the road projects were carried out in 2004 for Greystones Southern Access Route (GSAR) followed by GSAR Links in 2005 and the N11 Kilpedder Interchange project in 2006. All three formed a stretch of road running east-west, south of Greystones from Charlestown across the N11, linking the Greystones route to the village of Kilpedder.

In total, 29 sites were identified and resolved. Perhaps the most interesting site was a small circular enclosure of Middle/Late Bronze Age date. Within this enclosure, both inside and directly outside it, were a group of five upright ceramic vessels containing cremated human bone.

Though the enclosure was taken first to be a ring ditch, excavation showed that the 'ditch', by its excavated profile, was likely to be a slot trench for a structure, while the pottery urns were coarse ware of a type usually dated to the Late Bronze Age between 800 and 1100 AD. Radiocarbon dating, however, suggested that the site and the burials were somewhat earlier than those associated with the vast majority of similar coarse wares. The fact that the enclosure with its distinctive straight sided and flat based trench had no visible opening for an entrance indicated that it may not have been domestic and was suggested to be a mortuary structure.

The remains of several burnt mounds or 'Fulachta Fiadh', ancient cooking or bathing places, were found along the route on all three sites. In some instances, burnt spreads of stone came to light, in others only the pits for boiling the water with fire heated stones were found. On the GSAR as well as at Kilpedder, several pits containing a large quantity of medieval pottery were found as well as contemporary cereal drying kilns.