County: Meath Site name: RATOATH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0172
Author: Rosanne Meenan
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 701629m, N 751722m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.505663, -6.467964
Planning permission was received to build 59 housing units and retail units on a site south-west of Ratoath village, just within the zone of archaeological potential (SMR 44:34). Monitoring was required during all subsurface works. This was carried out intermittently over a period of c. 10 months as the development was completed in phases.
Sod and topsoil were removed at the beginning. It became apparent that significant amounts of topsoil and rubbish had been dumped from the adjoining building sites. Trenches for a land drainage system were excavated. These were partially excavated along the line of an earlier pipe but were larger and deeper than the earlier pipe. Excavation of foundation trenches and ground reduction was then carried out for the various structures. These were cut through the remaining redeposited topsoil and into layers of dark silty material, varying in depth, colour and stoniness. No features were cut into the natural layers and nothing of archaeological interest was observed; no artefacts were recovered.
Roestown, Drumree, Co. Meath
