1971:0031 - TRIM, Meath

Three towers in the curtain wall (West tower, South-West corner tower and the most Westerly tower in the South wall) and the north side of the Gate house were excavated. The entire west half of the Castle area enclosed by the curtain walls were artifically raised considerably above the natural level of the ground in the 17th century and at the same time the towers along the south and west curtain walls were filled with rubble. This altering of the level of the ground in the Castle and the filling of the towers was probably carried out by Col. Fenwicke in 1647 during the defence of the town by the Confederates.

The excavation was mainly concerned with the removal of this fill from the three towers and the Gate house in order to facilitate repair works. All three towers contained some 13th century pottery - probably native ware, and a few pieces of French pottery. The tower in the west curtain wall only had a small amount of fill near the top of the tower which contained 13th century pottery while the lower part of the fill was totally sterile. The south-west tower was the most productive since about 2,000 sherds of pottery were recovered from it. One almost complete pot appears to have been a native copy of a French wine jug.

The tower in the south curtain wall although it produced very little pottery was probably the most interesting since several important structures were revealed here by the excavation. A 17th century blocking wall, a 13th century blocking wall and a sally port were all found here. A cutting 4m wide and 12m long extending northwards from this tower was excavated. The cutting revealed a corner of a 17th century building inside of which was found some waste lead and outside of which was found a considerable quantity of iron bloom. It is presumed that these remains are evidence for cannon ball and shot manufacturing in the 17th century. The original 13th century ground level was discovered in this cutting and it clearly shows that the Castle was built around and on a natural slope or hill. This tower also produced ten skulls of men who show undoubted evidence of having been beheaded. They date from the 17th century and are probably soldiers; some of the skulls show clearly where the men were struck on the head by swords. The heads of the soldiers were probably placed on the walls of the Castle and then dumped into a pit in the 17th century filling of this tower. The excavation of the Gate house revealed a cellar area which has no apparent entrance and had a perfectly preserved stone-flagged floor. On the floor level of this structure was found a considerable quantity of 13th century pottery.