County: Louth Site name: BALLYMAKELLETT
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 4:90, 4:91 and 4:121 Licence number: 00E0592
Author: Deirdre Murphy, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 710871m, N 812177m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.046827, -6.306981
An archaeological assessment was carried out in advance of the construction of a proposed residential dwelling at Ballymakellett, Ravensdale, Co. Louth, on 29 August 2000. The site is located near to SMR sites 4:90, 4:91 and 4:121, listed as a court tomb, a possible souterrain and a standing stone respectively. The site, which is located on the side of a hill, slopes from the north-east to the south-west boundary.
Five trenches were excavated in the area of the proposed dwelling-house, septic tank, percolation area and access driveway. The trenches varied in length from 5m to 20m and were excavated to depths ranging from 0.3m to 0.8m. The assessment revealed that topsoil and ploughsoil directly overlay the boulder clay. For the most part, topsoil was less than 0.3m deep, and boulder clay was exposed uniformly across the site at a depth of 0.3–0.4m. The only area of the site where the topsoil was deeper was in the area of the proposed dwelling, and here the ploughsoil extended to a depth of 0.5m. The site was devoid of archaeological stratigraphy or features, and no finds were encountered in any of the excavated trenches. Therefore, no further work is required for the proposed development to proceed as planned.
15 Trinity Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth
