2006:1615 - NOBBER: Kingscourt Road, Meath

This project involved monitoring on the Kingscourt Road, just outside the town of Nobber, Co. Meath. The work was an extension to the licence held by Rosanne Meehan in November 2002, where monitoring was carried out on Main Street in Nobber (Excavations 2002, No. 1503).

Work was concentrated in a 175m-long by c. 20m-wide area beginning at Kingscourt Road between the library and the bridge, where Meath County Council were carrying out road resurfacing and inserting underground services. The road lay within the zone of archaeological potential of a large motte (ME005–070) located immediately west of it. Monitoring took place from 13 to 25 November 2006.

On the northbound lane, a possible stone surface was recorded. It was directly under the tarmac and contained limestone, shale and brick. The stones were fairly well sorted but not dressed or split in any way. It appeared to be post-medieval in date and was probably associated with the construction of the existing road or the bridge.

Closer to the bridge on the other side of the road, medium-sized sub-rounded stones were uncovered at a depth of 1m. Although these stones appeared flat like a finished surface, they were an isolated occurrence. Further examination was not possible because the backfill from the other half of the road collapsed on to the surface under the weight of passing heavy goods traffic, effectively preserving it in situ. The date of this surface is unclear, but it may have been associated with the construction of the bridge, a stone boundary or a cattle track or path of some kind.

Most of the finds came from the northbound lane. Some bones that are probably animal were found, as well as a bicycle spoke, a metal strip with blue discoloration and a heavy metal ring of unknown identity and date.

No archaeological features were found during the monitoring of groundworks at this site.

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