2003:1386 - DULEEK: St Cianan's Church, Church Lane, Meath

An assessment was carried out at St Cianan's Church, Church Lane, Duleek, on a site north of SMR 27:15, an abbey in ruins. The 19th-century church is undergoing re-development and hand testing was carried out in the area of two proposed service trenches to the east of the newly built extension along a pathway through the cemetery. Two trenches were excavated and medieval deposits were exposed in both. Trench A measured 12m by 0.5m and was excavated to a maximum depth of 0.17m. It was located north of, and almost parallel to, Trench B. The upper deposit of this trench represented the existing pathway into the cemetery. This deposit was removed to expose F102, very compact brown/black silty clay containing small-medium angular and subangular stones. This deposit contained disarticulated human bone and sherds of medieval pottery.

Trench B measured 11.6m by 0.5m and was excavated to a maximum depth of 0.14m. The upper deposit represented the existing pathway. A post-medieval cobbled stone gutter was exposed in the western extent of this trench. This was originally associated with a downpipe connected to the church. Beneath the cobbled gutter and eastwards for a length of 5.1m was a compact brown-black silty clay containing small to medium angular and subangular stones and disarticulated human bone. This deposit measured the width of the trench and ended suddenly towards the eastern extent of the trench, where a moderately compact mid-brown clay containing occasional flecks of charcoal and occasional small to medium-sized angular stones was exposed. This deposit was 0.5m in width and 1.6m in length. It contained fragments of disarticulated human bone and sherds of medieval pottery. These deposits must be archaeologically resolved if the proposed service trenches are to be installed as planned.

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