2005:1085 - PLASTER (Area 13), Louth

Two areas of archaeological deposits were discovered during Phase 1 testing along the route of the A1/N1 Newry–Dundalk link road and two cuttings were subsequently opened up by mechanical excavator. Cutting A was 30m by 33m and Cutting B was c. 40m by 40m.

Cutting A was located on well-drained soil and situated on a small plateau on a gentle, east-facing slope of a low hill. The main features here were a cluster of three rectangular structures, together with a variety of pits and small miscellaneous features. The site had been disturbed by recent agricultural activity, mainly in the form of cultivation furrows.

Structure 1, probably a dwelling house, was orientated east–west, measured 8m by 7m and was defined by two narrow slot-trenches running parallel some 6m apart, with three pairs of large, regularly spaced, external post-holes. The eastern gable end was represented by a number of small post-holes. The gable end to the west was less well defined but may have been represented by a line of flat stones. The slot-trenches were narrow with several stake-holes, indicating that the walls were probably of wattle construction. There were two large post-holes in the interior aligned with the central pair of external posts and it is likely that the structure was partitioned here. The fill of the slot-trench contained much charcoal and the sides of the trench appeared oxidised in places, perhaps evidence that the structure had been destroyed by fire. Two small post-holes in the south-west corner of the structure may have been doorjambs, suggesting that there was an entrance here.

Structure 2, also probably a house, was orientated north–south, measured 8.5m by 6.5m and was situated 3m north of Structure 1. It was defined on three sides by a slot-trench, up to 0.6m wide, filled with a packing of redeposited natural subsoil and stones. Several depressions in the base of the packing indicated the former presence of posts and it is likely that this structure had walls of upright planks. There was no slot-trench on the northern side of the structure, which was defined by two large corner post-holes and some smaller central ones. There were some post-holes more or less orientated on the centre-line of the structure, suggesting a row of supporting posts here. There was no evidence for an entrance but, since there is a continuous and well-defined slot-trench on the other three sides, this is likely to have been to the north.

Structure 3, measuring 6m by 4m, was situated 1.5 west of Structure 1, on virtually the same alignment. It was defined on three sides by a slight slot-trench with small post-holes in the corners. There appeared to be a central partition, represented by a post-hole at the midpoint of the long side connected to another post-hole by a short length of perpendicular slot-trench, with a further post-hole an equal distance beyond this. There was no slot-trench on the northern side of this structure. This structure, perhaps contemporary with Structure 1, may have been a shed or byre, with an internal partition dividing it into two stalls.

There was a group of pits to the west of these structures, including two circular pits with a charcoal-rich fill, which may have been cooking pits. Just north of these were two large, deep pits, with an homogenous silty fill, perhaps storage pits. There were a number of small pits, stake-holes and short lengths of slot-trench between Structures 1 and 2, probably indicating some sort of domestic activity in this area. A third group of pits was situated to the south and south-east of Structure 1. Some of these may relate to prehistoric activity, although others may be connected with modern cultivation.

There was a series of parallel cultivation furrows criss-crossing the site. The main band of furrows ran north–south, although east–west furrows were also noted. These furrows were quite variable in width and depth and suggested lazy-bed cultivation rather than ploughing.

Finds included several sherds of prehistoric pottery together with some flint flakes, including a possible thumbnail scraper, and the bulk of the features here are likely to be Neolithic in date. It is not possible at present to reconstruct the particular phases of activity, although it may be that Structures 1 and 3, at least, are contemporary.

Cutting B was located to the west of Cutting A, situated on gently sloping ground at the foot of a slope. There was a linear ditch running east–west between the two baulks for 33.5m, with two cultivation furrows running parallel to the west. Around halfway along the length of this ditch was another, perpendicular to the first, running for 7m into the southern baulk. East of the angle formed by these two ditches was a smaller linear feature running parallel to the main ditch. There was a faint right-angled return west of this feature, which seemed to indicate some small structure, within the angle of the larger ditches. A corresponding return was not present to the east of the feature, however, although the test-trench here may have removed any remaining traces. Both the larger and smaller east–west ditches appeared to cut through a stone spread to the east of the cutting. Subsequent excavation of the larger ditches produced post-medieval finds.

North of these ditches were a series of oval or circular features, in a range of sizes, some with stony, silty fills, with some of the smaller ones having charcoal-rich fills. Excavation showed that some of these were probably natural features, while others seemed to be stone sockets resulting from field clearance. Some of the smaller features seem to have been deliberately cut, perhaps as post-holes, and a small fragment of coarse pottery indicated that these might have been archaeological in nature. However, no structure could be inferred from them.

An hourglass-shaped feature in the north-eastern corner of the cutting proved to be some sort of oven or dryer, the deeper, northern, chamber containing much charcoal, with the surrounding subsoil displaying signs of burning. It is not clear at present exactly what activity was being carried on here, although examination of the soil sample taken from this feature may provide some indication.

It seems, then, that the ditches are post-medieval field boundaries, possibly with a light structure such as a shed or a byre in the corner of one of these fields. The date of the oven/drier is uncertain, these simple structures being in use throughout the medieval period and beyond. Some of the smaller pits may indicate that some earlier, possibly prehistoric, activity also took place here.

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