2016:443 - Knowth House, Knowth, Meath

Monitoring was undertaken on a development at Knowth House Farmyard Complex, Co. Meath. The site is within the constraint area surrounding Knowth Passage tomb and Archaeological Complex (ME019:030). Monitoring was carried out on 9 May 2016 under ministerial consent on behalf of the contractor for the works, Redlough Landscapes. Monitoring was carried out during topsoil stripping associated with landscaping and during the excavation of two service trenches, two holes for tree planting and the excavation of lighting ducts within the farmyard. No archaeological features or deposits were exposed during the works and no finds were recovered.

The topsoil covering the majority of the upper and lower yards measured an average of 0.22m in thickness and lay directly above the natural clay. Evidence of 19th-century demolition was exposed at the south-western ends of Trenches 1 and 2, where a layer of dark brown clay containing brick fragments and sherds of earthenware were exposed. Similarly, a 19th – 20th-century garden clay was exposed in tree pit 2, where a dark brown – grey clay with stone, roots and moderate inclusions of broken modern pottery sherds was identified to a depth of 0.67m.

The works were completed without any impact on archaeological features or deposits.

Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit, Unit 21 Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co Louth