2009:581 - DROGHEDA ROAD/BALTRAY ROAD, TERMONFECKIN, Louth

A programme of test-trenching as part of an assessment was undertaken at a proposed residential development at the southern end of Termonfeckin,
Excavations 2009
Co. Louth. The site is situated in a sensitive environment and is surrounded by protected structures, recorded monuments and features of potential industrial heritage significance.
The testing programme demonstrated that significant archaeological remains are present on the site. These remains date to the medieval period (13th and 14th century) and include ditches, linear features and at least one pit. The evidence suggests that the activity here includes food-waste disposal, metallurgical craftworking and the marking of boundaries, which is consistent with residential and/or craftworking uses. This activity is particularly significant in terms of its relationship with the medieval borough of Termonfeckin, and the people who lived on or worked at the site were undoubtedly connected in some way with the residents of the other medieval sites in the area, for example the Archbishop’s palace, the nunnery and ecclesiastical centre further to the north. These important religious institutions would have been served by a variety of people in and around the village.
Despite the significance of the findings, there was no evidence that any of the known monuments in Termonfeckin (and these tend to be the ecclesiastical sites) extend on to the development site, and no medieval masonry remains were identified on the site. In addition, no human remains were found.
A 19th-century smithy was recorded on the OS maps at the northern end of the proposed development site and was assessed during the test-trenching programme. The subsurface remains of the floors and foundations of the smithy were recorded.