County: Meath Site name: RATOATH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0359
Author: John Ó Néill, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Historic town
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 701779m, N 751795m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.506290, -6.465680
An assessment took place at the site of a proposed development in Ratoath, Co. Meath. Monitoring was requested as a condition of planning permission, but it was decided to proceed with testing to identify any archaeological materials in advance of construction. To date, two phases of work have taken place. Initially test-trenches were opened across the site. This was followed by monitoring of topsoil-stripping within the main area of the development.
The assessment was within a number of fields and the former walled garden of a convent, which is now used as a nursing home, mainly outside, but partly within, the designated area of archaeological potential for Ratoath village. The site is bounded by a river to the south and by various private residences, the nursing home and the main road to the north, west and east. At the time of the assessment the site was untended and was heavily overgrown with grass and wild plants.
Eighteen test-trenches were opened on the site. The assessment phase identified a number of linear features, most likely agricultural furrows, producing medieval pottery. A quantity of medieval pottery was also recovered from topsoil on the site. Following consultation with the developers, it was decided that topsoil would be removed across the central portion of the site to try and identify the full nature and extent of archaeological features present on the area of the site where it is proposed to build houses.
After the topsoil was stripped from the site, examination of this area revealed a small number of linear features and burnt spreads. Some of these features correlated with those identified during the previous testing.
Three apparent phases of activity are represented by these various features. The first phase is represented by a series of burnt features and spreads including F6, F7, F18, F22, F35 and a larger spread, F23. As F22 is cut by a ditch, F21, that may be of medieval date, it is possible that these features represent some earlier activity.
The second group of features are those associated with the division of the site into strips of around 12m- by c. 3m-wide ditches (probably shallow boundary ditches). These appear to represent strip fields of medieval or late medieval date. A borough is mentioned at Ratoath in a charter of Hugh de Lacy to St Thomas’s Abbey, dated to around 1200 (from notes by John Bradley in RMP file).
A series of narrow linear features (probably furrows, as noted during the previous assessment) were also found. Whether they are contemporary or represent a different phase is not yet known, although it is likely that they represent post-medieval consolidation of the strip fields. The final phase of activity was evidenced by the land drains and more modern agricultural remains.
All of the features were left in situ and there is currently no agreement over a programme for excavation or the future development of the site.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
