2001:1006 - LAGAVOOREEN (Site 17), Meath

This site, in the townland of Lagavooreen in the parish of St Mary’s, Drogheda, was identified during test-trenching of the Drogheda Bypass by V.J. Keeley Ltd in August 2000. A small investigation of the area was begun on 26 March by Emmet Stafford which suggested the presence of an enclosure ditch containing waterlogged organic remains and associated internal features such as pits/post-holes (No. 1005, Excavations 2001). Though the site was to be preserved in situ, a two-week excavation was conducted to establish the full line and extent of the enclosure and to try to assess its significance, function and date. A substantial portion of the ditch was also to be excavated to rescue the potential waterlogged organic remains exposed during the testing of the site. This two-week excavation commenced on 19 April 2001.

The excavation of Site 17 revealed that it was a large univallate enclosure, roughly oval in shape, with an entrance/causeway to the south-east. Unfortunately a modern field ditch cut through the original entranceway, destroying any archaeological features in this area. The enclosure had an internal diameter north–south of 48m and an external diameter north–south of 50m. The outer edge of the eastern section of the enclosure ditch was cut at some stage during the post-medieval to modern period by a large culvert and the original width of the enclosure ditch therefore remains unknown in this area.

The extent of the ditch was not, however, excavated in its entirety; the western to north-western edge was extremely difficult to identify as it had been heavily truncated and disturbed by recent machine activity during the construction works. Twelve sections of the enclosure ditch and one test-trench across the western part of the ditch were excavated, and within these sections the width of the ditch varied from 2.14m to 4.8m and the depth varied from 0.6m to 1.65m. The ditch for the most part consisted of seven different fills (slight variations did occur within each section which was excavated).

The uppermost fill of the enclosure ditch consisted of a dark orange/brown clay silt which may represent the remains of the bank after it was ploughed out across the fill of the ditch. Below this a loose black charcoal-rich layer with frequent small angular stone inclusions was visible. This fill was evident at the top of the ditch in the southern portion of the enclosure where it was not sealed by the dark orange/brown clay and may represent a deliberate infilling of a later recutting of the ditch. This charcoal-rich layer does not represent in situ burning but rather material brought from elsewhere and used to fill up the ditch. Below this layer a dark brown clay silt was evident throughout the greater part of the ditch. It sealed, in turn, an orange clay silt which contained occasional medium-sized stone inclusions, a dark brown clay silt and finally a dark grey compact waterlogged clay with small to medium-sized angular stone inclusions. A large quantity of animal bone and a very small quantity of cremated bone was retrieved from all fills of this enclosure ditch, whilst organic material, i.e. timber branches, twigs and shell, was retrieved from the dark grey compact waterlogged clay at the base of the ditch. No worked timber was recovered. Finds retrieved from the uppermost fill of the ditch include two sherds of possible Bronze Age pottery, a post-medieval iron crucible and a small quantity of waste flint.

There was no evidence for slippage visible within the sections of the enclosure ditch that were excavated, which would indicate the former presence of an internal/external bank. A change in the natural subsoil, in the form of a linear band which survived for a length of 7.5m and varied in width from 1m to 1.5m, was visible along the inner edge along the south-west to western section of the enclosure ditch and could be interpreted as the remnants of an internal bank.

Two large post-holes were also cut into the base of the enclosure ditch (sections C and G). The post-hole within section C was circular, with a diameter of 1.6m and a maximum depth of 0.34m. The post-hole which was cut into the base of section G of the enclosure ditch had maximum dimensions of 1.15m by 1.3m and a maximum depth of 0.7m. The fill of each post-hole consisted of the dark compact waterlogged clay which lay at the base of the ditch. The post-holes may have once contained two large timber posts which probably formed part of a timber palisade within the ditch which may or may not be contemporary with the ditch itself.

Numerous features were exposed within the interior of the enclosure. This area was not fully resolved, with only the upper level of features exposed directly below the topsoil being excavated. A large stony subrectangular surface, which measured 21.5m by 9m, was exposed towards the centre of the enclosure on the highest part of the ridge. This surface was redeposited and may mask an earlier phase of activity on the site. A total of eight pits, two post-pits, seventeen post-holes, one shallow depression and two slot-trenches were cut through the aforementioned floor/working surface. These features appear to represent the remains of two possible structures: a large rectangular structure and a circular structure. The rectangular structure consisted of two slot-trenches and three post-holes and measured 13.6m by 5.6m, whilst the circular structure consisted of ten post-holes which formed the outer wall and three internal post-holes which probably functioned as inner supports. The circular structure may also include the slot-trench F40, and it is possible that the second slot-trench (F13) represents an annex to the circular house. This circular structure had a diameter of 10m east–west. Finds retrieved from these features include a sherd of prehistoric pottery from pit F15 (possibly Bronze Age), waste flint, a very small quantity of charcoal, animal bone and a tiny quantity of cremated bone.

Numerous features were also exposed north-west and south-south-west of the floor/working surface: pits, a single post-hole and a single plank-slot. None of these features were stratigraphically related but merely cut into the underlying subsoil and their exact function remains unclear. It would appear that some of the pits probably functioned as rubbish-pits as a small quantity of animal bone, cremated bone and charcoal was retrieved from the fill, but the majority of the features were simply filled with a brown loam. Four sherds of Western Neolithic pottery were, however, recovered from pit F43. This could be indicative of an earlier phase of settlement on this site.

Towards the southern edge of the site a large subrectangular pit was exposed which had been backfilled with burnt stone material. The pit measured 7.5m by 4.5m and had a depth of 1.98m. The only finds to be recovered from it were waste flint and a small quantity of animal bone. The function of the pit is unclear but it may have been a tree root bowl which was adapted as a water sump as the base of this feature continually filled with water.

Radiocarbon determinations have enabled secure dating of the period in which the enclosure was constructed and in use: the late Bronze Age. A sample of bone recovered from the fill of the enclosure ditch F3 returned a radiocarbon date of 2750 ± 70 BP (1040–810 cal. BC). Samples from pits from the interior of the enclosure also returned similar dates. A charcoal sample recovered from pit F47, however, returned a radiocarbon date of 2270 ± 40 BP (390–200 cal. BC), which places this feature securely within the early Iron Age. This could represent the remnants of a later phase of activity within the enclosure although there are no finds to indicate Iron Age occupation.

Three phases of activity can therefore be identified on this site. The earliest is represented by the sherds of Western Neolithic ware recovered from F43 (c. 3800–3600 cal. BC). The second phase dominates the site and consists of the enclosure ditch, the stony clay surface and the pits, post-holes and slot-trenches which were cut through the stony clay surface. The final phase is represented by pit F47. This feature was located outside the stony clay surface and is indicative of an early Iron Age phase of activity on the site.

15 Trinity Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth