2009:653 - MOYNALTY VILLAGE/BALLAIR/MOYNALTY DEMESNE/SHANCARNAN, Meath

Monitoring on the bundled wastewater collection system for County Meath in and around Moynalty village started in 2008 and continued in 2009. An archaeological site was discovered during the construction of the new wastewater-treatment plant on the outskirts of the village (Excavations 2008, No. 970). In 2009 monitoring at the pump station discovered a kiln and possible associated features (NGR 273353 282800). Monitoring of pipe construction in the centre the village on Main Street also identified a possible stone kiln. The feature, oriented north-west/south-east, lay c. 1m below the road surface and truncated a deposit of compact brown clay which is probably natural subsoil. Due to health and safety considerations, it was not possible to enter the narrow trench and investigate further and recording was carried out from the side of the trench. The kiln was at least 1.5m wide and appeared as a compact stone structure with charcoal appearing between stones.
Monitoring construction work at the pump station, situated adjacent to the Moynalty River and in the north-east part of Moynalty village, revealed a corn-drying kiln, and a ditch and stone structure in the outfall pipe to the Moynalty River (NGR 273353 282800). The kiln feature extended outside the area of the pump-station footprint to the north-east, into the line of pipe connecting the pump station to the network pipes. The kiln was partially excavated in February; the remainder was excavated in the pipe trench in April/May under an extension to the monitoring licence. The excavation revealed a large corn-drying kiln, with a stone-lined bowl and a flue, cut into the natural subsoil. The kiln’s keyhole-shaped cut was at least 4m long, 1.6m wide and up to 0.7m deep. The cut contained two fills and the bowl consisted of roughly three courses of angular sandstones. The primary fill of the kiln was loose dark-brown clayey silt with a high charcoal content. An analysis of the plant macro remains by Sarah Cobain revealed that the fill contained high quantities of charcoal, carbonised cereal grains, mostly oats but also wheat and barley, and herbaceous taxa, which suggests the use of this area as the main stoking pit/fire pit for the kiln. The kiln appears to have been fuelled with Maloideae species (hawthorn/rowan/ crab apple), hawthorn spindle tree and willow/poplar.
Monitoring of the outfall pipe from the pump station to the Moynalty River revealed a small ditch apparently parallel to and c. 6m from the river, and a small stone structure. The structure was at least 1.5m long, 1.75m wide and at least 0.6m deep. It consists of a foundation cut or pit lined with three roughly coursed walls, one-stone thick, all lying on a possible floor surface made of large stones and mortar. The structure appears to have been oriented north–south and extends south beyond the limits of the pipe trench. The ditch was situated 0.5m east of the stone structure, running north–south, and measures at least 1.5m long, 2.75m wide and 0.8m deep. The ditch had a concave section with a flat base and contained three fills. The upper fills consisted of a dump of burnt material, possibly coal, mixed with a plastic silty clay and a natural accumulation of dark-grey silty clay. The basal fill consisted of yellow/grey plastic clay with frequent pebbles, cobbles and stones. A subrectangular shallow pit is situated east of the ditch and is only partially exposed. It measured at least 0.6m long, 0.46m wide and 0.08m deep. Its fill consists of friable light-brown silty clay with moderate amounts of pebbles, cobbles and charcoal. Nothing was found to date the structure, ditch and pit feature, although the coal-like burnt material may suggest a relatively modern date. It is possible the structure may be the remains of a garden feature or an outhouse. The outfall pipe was diverted along an existing sewer pipe to minimise the archaeological impact and preserve these archaeological remains in situ.
Archaeological fieldwork for the bundled wastewater collection system for County Meath in Moynalty finished in 2009.