2007:1409 - KELLS ROAD/LOMAN STREET/NAVAN GATE Street, TRIM, Meath

Further monitoring and limited excavation took place under ministerial consent as part of the Trim street reconstruction project. Previous work was reported on in Excavations 2006 (No. 1648). This involved monitoring on the Kells road which uncovered traces of structures dating to the 19th century. An assessment was undertaken to relocate a well previously uncovered during monitoring on Loman Street. The well was uncovered in the roadway at the junction of Loman Street and Sarsfield Avenue. It measured 1.25m in diameter and was built from large unbonded river cobbles. It was set within a cut into the natural boulder clay which measured 2.25m in diameter. No excavation of the internal fill took place and it is proposed to display the structure within the new street design. The well pre-dates the first-edition OS map.
A further assessment was undertaken at the site of the Navan Gate. The site is located on Navan Gate Street, east of the junction of Haggard Street and High Street and directly south of St Mary’s Villas. A single trench was opened in order to assess any remains which may be associated with the Navan Gate, which formed part of the medieval defences of the town.
Test excavations were undertaken from 18 July to 1 August 2007. The site was contained largely under the existing southern footpath of Navan Gate Street. This was chosen as the most likely location for medieval remains to survive in situ as both the northern footpath and the road have been heavily truncated by modern services.
The presence of features from both the medieval and early modern periods were confirmed on the site. The medieval remains consisted of two small pits, a ditch and the badly disturbed remains of a clay-bonded wall. In addition there was evidence for a second medieval linear feature orientated north–south. Significantly, the western terminus of the confirmed medieval ditch seemed to broadly respect the proposed location of the medieval gate. Unfortunately only the northern edge of this feature was exposed and the majority is contained under the southern baulk of the trench. Excavation could not be continued in this area as this ran into a private residence. No direct evidence for the ‘Navan Gate’ was encountered; however, a large masonry block which may have originated from the gate was recorded in the northern section. This area was disturbed by excavations for a previous pipeline. Post-medieval masonry remains were also encountered and consisted of a mortar-bonded wall-like feature thought to represent an old street frontage. All the features were overlaid by a series of rubble and garden soil deposits dating to both the post-medieval and modern periods.
All features were reduced to the level of natural subsoil or to the depth of the proposed development at 1.5m below ground level. The remains of any features not fully excavated were covered with geotextile before the trench was backfilled with a small grade stone. This will facilitate the easy relocation of the site should it be needed during a future stage of archaeological monitoring associated with Trim’s main drainage scheme. Works will continue in 2008.