EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

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interface of this layer and the top layer. The E ware sherds were distributed in two areas at either
side of the entrance which suggests that the structure may have been in use when they were
deposited. This suggests that the building was in use between the mid sixth and mid seventh
centuries at least and possibly earlier. Interestingly, the dwelling was situated on an elevated and
exposed position – both on top of the bank and on one of the highest places in the northern part of
the island – so it appears that visibility was a key factor in its choice of location.
A trench was placed across the northern promontory platform in 1959 and was labelled Site V. Early
medieval activity consisted of a number of pits. One produced an E ware sherd and a lignite ring
although their function is unclear. Twenty five E ware sherds were also uncovered within the trench.
A number of other cuttings revealed further pits and hearths. Late Roman Amphora and E ware
pottery sherds were associated with one hearth while one of the pits produced ironworking debris
including slag and a possible tuyère fragment.
Excavations have revealed structural and artefactual evidence indicative of settlement at Dalkey
Island dating to the early medieval period. The first early medieval habitation phase preceded the
construction of the promontory fort probably between the fifth and mid seventh centuries. The fort
bank was utilised for the construction of a building – probably a house – in the seventh century. The
large numbers of imported pottery suggest that the promontory fort acted as an importation base
rather than a permanent high status settlement. Therefore, specialised temporary or seasonal
settlements may have been utilised on the island by a social elite who controlled the procurement of
exotic foreign goods before they were redistributed on the mainland.
Fig. 108: General plan of Dalkey Island (after Liversage 1968, fig. 1).
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