2025:587 - Watery Lane, Stamullen, Meath
County: Meath
Site name: Watery Lane, Stamullen
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A
Licence number: 21E0111
Author: Linda Clarke, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit Ltd
Author/Organisation Address: Unit 21 Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth. A92 DH99.
Site type: Pits, ditches and curvilinear slot feature
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 714800m, N 765720m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.628686, -6.264368
The site at Watery Lane, Stamullen, Co. Meath was subject to archaeological test trenching in October 2021 and July 2022. A concentration of archaeological features was identified in Test Trenches 1, 2, and 8 near the site entrance.
Following the test trenching results, the development was redesigned to facilitate the in-situ preservation of identified archaeological remains. However, due to heavy machinery entering the site, it was decided to excavate a section of the driveway that would be impacted by the machinery. The exposed archaeological features were recorded and excavated. This allowed the stripped area to be filled with hardcore gravel, enabling heavy machinery to be brought onto the site.
Three ditches (C200, C201 and C206), a possible pit (C203), a pit (C207), a curvilinear slot (C204) and a linear feature/gully (C208) were exposed, excavated and recorded within the stripped area. Twenty artefacts were recovered from the features, including pottery (18) and flint (2). The recovered pottery was dated to the late medieval period.
The remaining archaeology (the features extending beyond the excavation limit and the other features identified in testing) will still be preserved in situ, below the redesigned driveway.