2000:0754 - COMMONS OF LLOYD, Kells, Meath

Archaeological testing was undertaken at the proposed site of Lynn Publications on 31 July and 1 August 2000. A previous assessment of the Commons of Lloyd (see Excavations 2000, No. 753) indicated the presence of two potential ploughed-out sites, a possible henge and a possible barrow. The development will avoid these possible sites by distances of 60m and 30m respectively.

Three 1m-wide test-trenches were opened by mechanical excavator within the area of the proposed development. Trench A was 78.5m long; Trench B was 77.5m; and Trench C was 45m. The stratigraphy was generally consistent across the three trenches. A sod layer 0.15–0.2m thick overlay a shallow, loose, greyish-brown topsoil with frequent small stones that had a maximum thickness of 0.75m. This generally overlay the upper layer of natural subsoil, a firm, reddish-brown to yellow, silty sand. Below this was a variable layer of coarse gravel and stones. In places the underlying layer of stone and gravel lay immediately below the topsoil.

Sixteen features were noted, the majority being loose, stone-filled land drains. Some of these corresponded to linear features noted from differential growth patterns on the ground surface. In addition to those with a clear drain morphology, other, shallower channels may have served a drainage function on a smaller scale. At the western end of Trench A plough furrows were identified running north–south, with their bases occurring c. 0.5m below the present ground surface. All the features noted fit comfortably into the agricultural context suggested by the historical analysis of the site. The variation in styles and orientation of drainage features agrees well with the site’s history as unenclosed commonage.

No artefacts were recovered from the features examined. No artefacts or material datable to a period earlier than the later 18th century were recovered either from features or from mechanical removal of topsoil.

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