2026:234 - Rocksborough, Wexford

Archaeological test trenching was undertaken at lands in the townland of Rocksborough, on the south-eastern outskirts of Wexford town. The investigation was completed as a pre-planning archaeological assessment in advance of a proposed residential development.

The site is bounded to the east by the Dublin–Rosslare railway line and the coastline and to the west by the R730 regional road. An existing dwelling and associated outbuildings are located centrally within the lands. The southern portion of the site was under grassland, while the northern portion was under rough pasture. A total of eleven test trenches, with a combined length of 670m, were mechanically excavated under archaeological supervision. The trenches were generally 2.1m wide and were excavated to depths of between 0.3m and 0.38m, extending through the topsoil to the surface of the natural subsoil. The excavated spoil was scanned for finds, and a metal detector was used. The testing identified variations in the natural subsoil, including silty clay, sandy clay, sand, gravel and localised deposits of grey marl. A mortared stone-built drain was exposed in Trench 1. This was interpreted as a relatively recent agricultural or drainage feature and was not considered to be of archaeological significance.