2004:1730 - BALLYHEALY ROAD, DELVIN, Westmeath

A number of features were uncovered during test-trenching adjacent to a motte (SMR 14:4). Testing was undertaken in 2003 (Excavations 2003, No. 1968) and the site was excavated in April 2004. At the south of the development a silty black deposit was uncovered at 0.4m below the present ground level. This feature was irregular in shape and was excavated into the natural gravelly sand; the fill was a silty dark-brown soil with small stones, occasional charcoal and animal bone. The feature extended into the baulk at the north-west and the visible area measured 1.96m in length and 0.75m in width. The linear feature extends into areas at the east and south that will not be affected by the development and were not excavated. The feature was exposed for 3.72m in length and 1.5m in width. This feature is cut into the natural, an orange/red gravel with moderate amounts of small stones.

The base of the cut was flat with steeply sloping sides; the basal layer is a sandy/gravel layer. At the north-west a layer of yellow/orange clay was used to line the side of the cut and the sides were then lined with stone measuring between 0.2m by 0.2m by 0.3m to 0.4m by 0.5m by 0.4m. The basal layer was covered by a layer of blackened soil at the east, indicative of in situ burning. This layer measured 1.2m in length, 0.5m in width and up to 0.4m in depth. The remaining section of the feature was filled with a brown silty layer with inclusions of bone, modern pottery and brick. This feature was a modern stone-lined drain; it probably dates to the second half of the 19th century, when the present streetscape was constructed.