2004:1357 - TRIM: St Loman's Street, Meath

Testing and monitoring was undertaken at St Loman's Street, Trim, Co. Meath, prior to the proposed development of a new school. Work took place on 9 December 2004, using a fourteen-tonne tracked excavator equipped with a flat, toothless bucket. Two trenches and one test-pit were excavated within the area of proposed development. The trenches were placed in the west of the site in the area of the suggested line of the medieval town wall of Trim. Testing did not identify any structural remains of the wall. The structural remains of a medieval mortared stone wall and the robbed-out line of a probable second wall were identified in both Trenches 1 and 2, along with other later features, including pits and possible furrows.

The zone of archaeological potential map for Trim shows the potential line of the medieval town wall running across the west of the site. It is possible that this may not be the true line of the town wall. The results of the testing indicate that the present concrete-block site boundary, the standing buildings and the remains of medieval walls in the test-trenches all share a common orientation. It is possible, therefore, that the medieval town wall would also have followed this orientation and that its true location may be along the line of the present site boundary or slightly to the west of this.

The test-trenches did identify structural medieval walls and associated deposits and the test-pit identified potential industrial activity in the form of a hearth with a stone surface. The archaeological remains that were identified are potentially in open or proposed landscaped areas of the development and may not be directly impacted on.

It was not possible to sufficiently test the specific area that will be directly impacted on by the proposed development, due to access difficulties created by standing buildings.

8 Dungar Terrace, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin