2005:1253 - TRIM: Castle Street, Meath

The development consisted of groundworks associated with the insertion of service trenches and road improvements. These works were divided into three separate phases.

Phases I and II were carried out on Castle Street. These consisted of the excavation of two service trenches. The first trench extended along the eastern side of Castle Street for a distance of 171m. It stretched from the junction with Market Street in the north, to the southernmost mural tower. The distance between the trench and the curtain wall was 1.6m. This trench was excavated to a width of 4.5m and to a maximum depth of 1.5m from the existing street level. After pipe laying, the trench was backfilled and the road resurfaced. A second trench with the same dimensions was opened along the western side of Castle Street to accommodate another set of pipes. This trench was excavated to a depth of 0.75m.

The third phase consisted of the excavation of a shallow service trench. This trench extended for 50m from Castle Street towards the Town Gate. It ran along the eastern side of the curtain wall for 100m until it met the river. The trench measured 0.6m in depth and 0.3m in width and was located 2m from the base of the curtain wall.

The works were accomplished in several phases, starting in October 2003 (Excavations 2003, No. 1469) and concluding in September 2004. The depths of the service trenches were reduced to avoid damage to surviving archaeological deposits where possible. In areas where this was not feasible, the archaeological deposits were excavated.

Castle Street is located at the southern side of Trim town. It extends north from the R154 for c. 200m before it joins with Market Street. The groundworks were carried out within the zone of archaeological potential for Trim (SMR 36:48) and in the immediate vicinity of a listed monument (36:25). The street is medieval in origin and the curtain wall of Trim Castle lies less than 10m to the east of the street’s southern extent. Two of the D-shaped mural towers are immediately adjacent to the road. The projected location of the town wall also appears to lie just within the area of the development, extending west to Emmet Street from the most southerly of the two mural towers (Bradley 1988, 37).

The remains of a medieval and early post-medieval graveyard associated with the Grey Friary were identified and partially excavated. Human remains were exposed in other developments carried out nearby. Masonry structures were exposed during the course of excavation, probably related to the Town Court and other post-medieval structures. Several post-medieval rubble deposits were also exposed. A ditch-like feature was uncovered next to the curtain wall of Trim Castle, which is believed to be the remains of an enclosing moat. No remains of the town wall were discovered during the course of the works.

The archaeology along Castle Street has been greatly disturbed by earlier developments, especially due to the sewerage system, which was excavated to a depth of 2.6m below the actual street level. Several archaeological remains were found in disturbed contexts.

Under the same licence, monitoring was carried out on the construction of a pedestrian path along the north bank of the River Boyne, opposite Trim Castle. The development did not impact on any standing remains and no new archaeological features were revealed. Topsoil was removed and metal-detected under licence 04R013.

Greenanstown, Stamullan, Co. Meath