County: Meath Site name: JOHNSTOWN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0620
Author: Richard Clutterbuck, Cultural Resource Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 678343m, N 740506m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.408868, -6.821695
Excavations took place here between 4 and 25 July 2001. The site was located to one side of the Enfield Relief Road, adjacent to the boundary fence. It initially appeared as a number of dark patches over an area of approximately 8m by 10m and was found to contain 41 features, including five areas of dark soil and what appeared to be burnt stone. The site contained a large modern ditch and prominent linear features, the result of modern lazy-bed cultivation, which cut across the site east–west. Only modern finds were recovered from the cultivation features, and indeed from the site as a whole. The dark patches proved to be pits of various depths, containing dark fills with heat-affected stones but no diagnostic finds. The site was also disturbed by root action from trees. All the features on the site were disturbed to a greater or lesser degree by modern cultivation. Hazel and ash were found to be the dominant species; oak and alder were also found, but elm was absent; the charcoal samples were unsuitable for carbon dating.
The site has been fully excavated. It is highly probable that more archaeological remains are to be found in the field adjacent to the site. Therefore it has been recommended that a buffer zone be placed around the site within which further assessments should be carried out prior to future development.
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