1997:414 - THE STATION HOUSE, Athboy, Meath

The site is located on the south-east side of the town of Athboy (Townparks Td) at the margin of the ‘zone of archaeological potential’ as defined by the Urban Archaeological Survey. Two blocks of four apartments are proposed for the site, which is in the yard of the former railway terminus of the Dublin and Meath Railway, opened in 1864 and later absorbed into the MGWR. The line closed in 1959 and soil cover has since reclaimed the yard, which now resembles a grass field.

The site fronts onto a lane which leads from the Fair Green to the Athboy River. According to the Urban Survey the river formed the eastern boundary of the walled town, with the Carmelite friary lying outside it on the east side of the river. The pattern of long burgage plots in Lower Bridge Street is cited as evidence for an early suburb east of the town.

Eight test-pits 2–4m in length were excavated by machine. Under topsoil the compact surface of the railway yard was encountered in most of the trenches. A large amount of stone and gravel fill had been brought onto the site to create the level yard surface. However, the investigations revealed the presence of archaeological material located at depths of 1.25–1.4m within 5m of the lane at the north end of the site. A deposit, up to 0.6m thick, containing animal bones, charcoal, mussel shells and medieval pottery was investigated by hand in a 1m x 0.5m test-pit. Seven sherds of pottery, probably of local manufacture and of 14th- to 16th-century date, and a sherd of Leinster cooking ware were recovered. The material found appears to confirm settlement on the east side of the Athboy River in the late medieval period.

The proposed foundations, having a depth of 1m, are unlikely to interfere with the archaeological deposits. The National Monuments Service have recommended that archaeological monitoring be carried out during the construction phase.

6 St Ultan’s, Laytown, Drogheda, Co. Louth