County: Meath Site name: DULEEK: The Commons
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0174
Author: Stephen J. Linnane, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: Building
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 704578m, N 769608m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.665759, -6.417528
Monitoring of topsoil-stripping was undertaken in advance of a housing development. The site was located c. 1km to the north of the historically important town of Duleek. At the time of excavation the site consisted of open grassland with a small cottage fronting onto the adjacent lane.
The topsoil was stripped using a JCB equipped with a toothless grading bucket and was on average c. 0.3m deep. Over the majority of the site no features or deposits of archaeological significance were noted, but to the rear of the cottage below a layer of olivecoloured clay were the remains of a farm outbuilding. The remains were subsequently cleaned and recorded. The building had a cobbled floor, limestone wall footings (the superstructure may have been of earthen construction) and traces of internal partitions. Potsherds dated the building to the late 18th or early 19th century and, because of its recent date, the record made was considered adequate and no further excavation work was undertaken.
Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth
