County: Meath Site name: TOWNPARKS, ATHBOY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: ME029–023 Licence number: C254; E3687
Author: Development Services Ltd, Unit 4, Dundrum Business Park, Dundrum, Dublin 14.
Site type: Urban, medieval and modern
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 671635m, N 764020m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.621095, -6.917183
Monitoring of the bundled wastewater collection system for County Meath in Athboy continued in 2009 (see Excavations 2008, No. 937). Monitoring of the network pipes in the environs of the town, and for the wastewatertreatment plant, and Trim road to the south of the town, were also carried out under separate licences by Denis Shine (Excavations 2008, Nos 935 and 938, 07E0919 and 08E0865 respectively).
Following a groundpenetrating radar survey on Main Street and Connaught Street (07R210) in 2007, where a large numbers of services and possible town wall and gate features were identified, Meath County Council decided to reroute the sewer pipe off Connaught Street down Church View to avoid these areas. Monitoring of the network pipes in 2008 along this road revealed nothing of archaeological significance (Excavations 2008, No 937). The developers decided to tunnel the sewer pipe along the Kildalkey Road from Barnes Avenue north, on O’Growney Street and Church View to connect with the works undertaken in 2008.
In August and September 2009 seven circular trenches were excavated to accommodate concrete shafts for tunnelling on the Kildalkey Road/Barnes Avenue, O’Growney Street and Church View. The only archaeological features discovered were in a trench 3.5m by 3.1m on the corner of O’Growney Street and Church View (NGR 271405 264000), where the foundations of modern walls were discovered 0.35m beneath the street surface. The walls appear to be the corner of a structure formerly fronting onto O’Growney Street, and consisted of a random course of stones bonded with mortar surviving up to four courses in depth (0.7m wide by 0.4m deep). The walls were built into modern deposits. These walls appear to have been part of a building presumably demolished some time in the 19th century to create Church View road. Reinstatement of the field in Townparks immediately south of Athboy town wall, where archaeological remains were discovered in 2008, was also undertaken in October 2009. Monitoring revealed no new archaeological features. Fieldworks for the bundled wastewater collection system for County Meath in Athboy finished in 2009.
Richard Clutterbuck, Cultural Resource
