2019:245 - Trim Cultural & Arts Centre, High Street, Trim, Meath

Seven trenches and two test-pits were mechanically excavated over a three-day period on a site to the rear of St. Patrick’s National School and the Library on High Street, Trim, Co. Meath. The upper layers in the trenches produced numerous post-medieval and modern pottery sherds with glass and brick fragments clearly dating these modern deposits. The principal features of archaeological interest comprised a peaty clay deposit, first encountered in Trenches 1 and 2. Due to the deep nature of the trenches no close investigation could be made of the relationship between the deposit F1 and the wall F2 and drain F3 encountered in Trench 2. A ditch containing a similar deposit was encountered in the neighbouring excavations for the construction of the Library (Walsh 1991) and the excavator interpreted that ditch as pre-dating the Anglo-Norman occupation of the site. Pending further excavations this may be the case here also.
The wall F2 and drain F3 were encountered in Trenches 2 and 7. The wall F2, measuring 0.95-1.2m in width, was orientated north-east/south-west, roughly parallel with High Street. The drain was bonded into the south-eastern side of the wall and had a width of 0.8-1m with a minimum internal depth of 0.5m from the bottom of the capstone (drain cavity not bottomed). The wall F2 and drain F3 were sealed by post-medieval layers but no secure dating evidence was found associated with these features. A wall of similar large dimensions (ibid, p.45,) was also encountered in the neighbouring excavations for the construction for the Library. A sherd of medieval cooking ware dated that wall from the Library excavation but it is unclear from the plans in the report whether this can be connected to the wall F2 from this excavation. The form, dimensions, depth below the surface and absence of associated post-medieval/modern finds suggests F2 and F3 are medieval in date.
To the north-west of these features in Trench 3 lay a possible ditch or pit of at least 2.1m in depth, F4 (not bottomed). No datable material was identified from this feature. To the north-east, in Trench 4, another deep cavity of at least 3.5m (not bottomed) below the current surface was identified. Again no datable material was obtained from this feature. Elsewhere, the absence of pottery or glass in deposits from low levels has been suggestive of a medieval date. This may be the case in F4/Trench 4. However, the adjacent excavations for the Library also revealed a possible quarry pit, F29 (ibid. pp. 43-44) of post-medieval date, and this may explain this deep feature here.
Two post-medieval walls were identified in this excavation, F5 in Trench 5 and F6 in Trench 6. The wall F5 appears to be marked on the 1st Edition OS map while the wall F6 was built directly on top of wall F2 and drain F3 and was c. 0.6m below the surface. Brick fragments were discovered on top of drain F3 in Trench 7, at the same level as the base of wall F6, and further support its posited post-medieval date. An east-west orientated ditch, c. 2.3m wide, was encountered in Trench 5 but is deemed non-archaeological.
A further wall, F7, was encountered in Trench 8. The wall was exposed for 3 or 4 courses and bonded with grey gritty lime mortar. The maximum extent was exposed for 1.3m in length, 0.6m in height and had a minimum width of 0.8m. By form, dimensions and level in the ground it bears similarities to the wall F2 identified in Trenches 2 and 7. However, the two walls (F2/F7) weren’t on the same alignment. No firm datable evidence was identified, however when compared with stratigraphy elsewhere and similarities in form and dimensions of the other features one could assume that wall F7 may be medieval in date.
During the course of excavating the trenches a metal detector was used to scan the removed spoil to aid finds retrieval. No archaeological artifacts were retrieved in the course of metal-detecting.

References:
Walsh, C. 1991. ‘An excavation at the library site, High Street, Trim’ Ríocht na Midhe, Vol. 8, No. 3, 41-67.

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