1999:591 - DROMISKIN, Louth

The site is in Dromiskin village, to the west of the former ecclesiastical enclosure that is an Early Christian monastic site containing the remains of a round tower and high cross. Nearby are six possible souterrains and an earthwork, SMR 12:43. The monastery was founded by St Patrick in around 433, with numerous abbots recorded from the 8th/10th centuries before it was abandoned in around 1065.

The proposed development is for ten houses with associated services, and the site is to the north of the road leading from Dromiskin to the nearby coast. A fulacht fiadh was found in 1996 in marshland to the south of the site, and two cist burials were discovered nearby in 1862. Four trenches were excavated in the area to be disturbed by the development.

Trench 1 was excavated in an east-west direction in the northern section of the site. It measured 37.5m by 1m and was 0.9m deep. Sod and topsoil extended to a depth of 0.2m, below which a black clay extended to a depth of 0.7m, at which point the natural, grey boulder clay was exposed. The middle layer contained a single sherd of blue and white patterned, tin-glazed earthenware. At 7m from the western end of the trench an old field drain extending north-south was exposed at a depth of 0.3m, 0.6m wide and 0.3m high. The field drain contained fragments of red brick and water-rolled stones.

Trench 2, in the western section of the site, extended north-south, measured 32m by 1m and was excavated to a depth of 1.3m. The sod and topsoil extended to a depth of 0.15–0.2m. Below this a yellow, sandy clay extended to a depth of 0.4m, and this rested on a layer of stony, grey, rich ploughsoil that extended to a depth of 1.1m. The natural horizon was a grey/white, dauby boulder clay that lay at a depth of 1–1.1m. No features were evident in this trench, and no finds were recovered.

Trench 3, in the eastern section of the site, extended north-south, measured 45m by 1m and was excavated to a depth of 0.9m. The sod and topsoil extended to a depth of 0.2m and overlay the ploughsoil, which was similar to that encountered in Trenches 1 and 2. At the northern end of the trench natural boulder clay lay at a depth of 0.85m, but 5m from the northern end of the trench boulder clay rose to 0.3m below the surface. At 12.5m from the southern end of the trench an area of black, burnt soil was visible in both trench baulks at a depth of 0.7m and was 3.5m long. A small amount was hand-excavated, revealing large amounts of burnt stone that may represent the remains of a ploughed-out fulacht fiadh. No finds were recovered from this trench.

Trench 4, in the southern section of the site, extended in an east-west direction, measured 21m by 1m and was excavated to a depth of 1.5m. The sod and topsoil extended to a depth of 0.2m, below which the boulder clay was exposed. At 1.5m from the east end of the trench, sod and topsoil extended to a depth of 0.4m and overlay a sandy ploughsoil extending to a depth of 0.78m. Below this lay a layer of black, burnt clay with tiny fragments of orange, fire-cracked sandstone. This burnt layer measured 3.5m east-west and was visible in the north and south sections of the trench. Hand-excavation revealed that this layer extended to a depth of 0.78–1.05m, at which point the boulder clay was exposed. This feature was identified as the remains of a ploughed-out fulacht fiadh. A single piece of animal bone was recovered from the burnt layer.

In conclusion, the presence of the remains of two fulachta fiadh that would be truncated by proposed foundations requires a recommendation for excavation of these features before development.

15 Trinity Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth