08/06/2026
Community Historian, Brendan Matthews. “What lies beneath” ?. Photo depicts the City North Hotel at Gormanston, as viewed from the Townland of Tobertown in Fingal. During construction work in the vicinity of the City North Hotel, archaeological investigations uncovered a late Bronze Age Settlement and Ritual site which was subsequently excavated from November of 2006 to July of 2007. This, ridge-top, Enclosure site was made up of two oval shaped ditches and a causeway forming an eastern aligned entrance into the site. The inner ditch enclosed an area of 28 metres by 22 metres while the outer ditch was much larger, encompassing an area 57 metres by 47 metres. Radiocarbon dating, taken from charcoal samples found within one of the ditches, showed that the enclosure was constructed around three thousand years ago. Also found within the outer ditch were some fragments of human skulls alongside that of cattle skulls which had been deposited into a section of the ditch deliberately which was then sealed over with stone to protect the deposits beneath. A number of saddle querns, one with `cup mark` decoration, were also found to have been deposited deliberately into the ditch, all with their grinding surfaces facing downward. A number of unusual, rare clay objects were also uncovered during the excavation and these small vessels, measuring between 4.5 and 5.5cm, are believed to have been used in the process of salt production. Contained within a deep pit and situated in the south-western end of the enclosure, was discovered a fragment of a blue glass bead with lattice decoration. All the finds and discoveries found during the course of the excavation strongly indicate that the site was used for some form of ceremonial and ritual purposes. The construction of the M1 motorway adjacent to this site also revealed that there was substantial Bronze Age activity in this whole area, with further human burial remains and a number of Fulacth Fiadh, which were that of ancient cooking places , were also discovered, dating back to over three-thousand years ago. Researched, written and compiled by Community Historian & Historical Researcher, Brendan Matthews.©2021
