2024:020 - Ash Walk, Townparks, Ardee, Louth

Archaeological test trenching was carried out on a site at Ash Walk, Townparks, Ardee, Co. Louth. Three test trenches were excavated within the site. Their location was informed by the footprint of the proposed development and associated groundworks. The topsoil consisted of a dark brown silty clay with frequent inclusions of rubbish and construction rubble and intact walls in places. It measured between 0.3m and 1.4m in depth.  The natural subsoil was mainly an orangish-brown boulder clay. A number of features that correspond with features depicted on the 1834 and 1908 OS maps were identified, and the high volume of rubble within the topsoil belonged to the structures from the aforementioned maps. Cobbles (C3 and C4) were identified in Trench 2 and several walls (C5, C6, C24, C25, C28, C31) were identified in Trenches 1 and 2. At the base of Trenches 1 and 2, several features were identified cut into the natural subsoil. They were pits C14 and C17, ditches C8, C13, C19 and C21, gullies C7 and C11 and the burnt spread C26. A sherd of late medieval pottery was found in situ in gully C11. The remaining features did not contain any finds. Given the large volume of 19th-century objects in the topsoil above, it is likely that they pre-date the 19th-century settlement and are probably late medieval.

As it is not possible to preserve these features in situ, it is recommended that all of the features be preserved by record (excavation). All further topsoil stripping within the proposed development site should also be monitored and any further archaeological features identified should be preserved in situ or by record (excavation) in consultation with the National Monuments Service.