County: Meath Site name: RATOATH: Main Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E1851
Author: Rosanne Meenan
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 702059m, N 751882m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.507017, -6.461433
The developer received planning permission to demolish an existing two-storey structure and to build a new two-storey development with retail unit at ground-floor level and residential units at first-floor level. An archaeological assessment of the site was required.
It appears that the house may have been built in several phases. The earliest phase was represented by a large room at the east end of the house, originally built as two rooms with the fireplace on the east side of the dividing wall. The doorway in from the street was at the north-west corner of the western room. This may have been a single-storey structure. A later phase was represented by an extension westwards comprising the lobby with staircase and living room. The second storey may have been added at this time. The third phase was represented by a flat-roofed kitchen extension. Early fabric was not observed in the building.
Two test-trenches and a small pit tested the area of the development outside the area occupied by the dwelling-house. In Trench 1 there was evidence for disturbance caused by drainage trenches and soak holes. These were associated with the house. The test-pit showed that the house was built directly on natural clay, with no evidence for a batter or foundation trench. Trench 3, excavated after demolition of the house, showed that the house extensions were constructed immediately on top of natural subsoil. Archaeological material was not observed in any of the trenches.
Roestown, Drumree, Co. Meath
