County: Meath Site name: Station Road, Dunboyne
Sites and Monuments Record No.: ME050-031, ME050-032002, ME050-032001 Licence number: 17E0399
Author: David McIlreavy, IAC
Site type: Ring ditches and medieval enclosure
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 702158m, N 742096m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.419080, -6.463121
A programme of test trenching was undertaken at Dunboyne, Co. Meath in September 2017. A desktop assessment of the site undertaken by Dr Karen Dempsey of IAC Ltd identified three archaeological sites (ME050‐031, ME050‐032002, ME050‐032001) which are due for inclusion in the Record of Monuments and Places at its next revision. Geophysical survey of the site, conducted by Earthsound Archaeological Geophysics under licence 17R0075 (Grimson and Regan, 2017) identified three anomalies which corresponded to the archaeological sites noted above. A number of previously unknown features were also identified across the proposed development area at this time.
Testing confirmed the presence and extent of enclosure ME050-032002. The two ring ditches (ME050-032001/031) were not tested as it is intended to preserve the features in-situ (Archaeological Areas 1 and 2). Enclosure ME050-032002 will also be preserved in-situ and represents a settlement site that either dates to the early medieval or medieval period. Two pieces of 13th-century ceramic from Test Trenches 45 and 51 (17E0399:1:1-2) may suggest that the enclosure was in use during this period.
Potential isolated archaeological activity may be present within Archaeological Areas 3, 4 and 5. Evidence of this activity consisted of a charcoal deposit in Test Trench 2 (AA3), charcoal within the upper ditch fill in Trench 3 (AA4), and a charcoal and ash deposit encountered within Trench 28 (AA5). The nature or date of the activity could not be discerned during testing but the features may possess moderate archaeological potential.
Archaeological Area 6 consists of two parallel curvilinear ditches that may represent a former trackway through the landscape. It is possible that, based on the alignment of the feature, it is post-medieval in date. However, it may be associated with the enclosure ME050-032001 to the east and as such may be earlier in origin.
A series of mitigation measures were recommended in the report submitted to the NMS and NMI including preservation in-situ of Archaeological Areas 1 and 2, and excavation of Archaeological Areas 3-6. Furthermore, it was recommended that a Conservation Plan be carried out in order to ensure the continued protection of the features throughout the life time of the development.
IAC Ltd, Unit G1 Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Wicklow
