County: Dublin Site name: TALLAGHT: Vicinity of St Maelruan’s (Docfield development)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 96E0054
Author: Rosanne Meenan
Site type: Ecclesiastical enclosure
Period/Dating: Medieval (AD 400-AD 1600)
ITM: E 708727m, N 727727m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.288694, -6.369267
An impact statement was prepared in February 1996 prior to the construction of blocks 8/9 of the Docfield development south of the Early Christian enclosure of St Maelruan’s. This area has been subject to intensive testing and excavation by M. Gowen and C. McConway respectively in the past few years (see earlier Excavations). Additional testing was requested by the OPW to define a ditch-type feature which had been exposed during testing on the site in 1991 by M. Gowen (Excavations 1991, 18).
Two trenches were picked up during the test-trenching. The same ditch was picked up in them both, running in an east-west direction to an approximate depth of 2m and 4m wide. Top layers in both trenches were grey clays, with more organic material at the base.
Excavation was subsequently carried out at the northwest corner of this development site by C. Walsh in the area of the Early Christian enclosing ditch. Christina Forrest carried out monitoring during the excavation of foundation pads and the ground-beam trenches.
Roestown, Drumree, Co. Meath
