County: Meath Site name: RATOATH: Main Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E1851
Author: Rosanne Meenan
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 702069m, N 751882m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.507015, -6.461283
The developer received planning permission to demolish a two-storey house on Main Street, Ratoath, and to build a two-storey development with retail unit at ground-floor level and residential units at first-floor level. Planning permission required an assessment of the site.
The inspection of the house revealed that it was built in several stages. The earliest phase was represented by a large room at the east end of the modern house; this was originally two rooms, with the fireplace on the east side of the dividing wall. A doorway originally opened in from the street at the north-west corner of the western room. This was a single-storey structure. A later phase was represented by an extension westwards comprising a lobby with staircase and living room. The second storey may have been added at this time. The third phase was represented by a flat-roof extension. Early architectural material was not observed during the inspection.
Two test-trenches and a small pit tested the area of the development outside the area occupied by the standing house. In Trench 1 there was evidence for disturbance caused by drainage trenches and soak holes associated with the house.
The test-pit against the back wall showed that the house was built directly on to natural clay, with no evidence for a batter or foundation trench. A third trench was excavated after the demolition of the standing house and this demonstrated that the extensions were constructed immediately on top of natural subsoil.
Roestown, Drumree, Co. Meath
