2020:505 - Well Road, Ratoath, Meath

An archaeological assessment was carried here. Two test trenches were excavated almost the full length of the site, which was located within the historic town of Ratoath (ME044-034-). A number of archaeological features were uncovered, mainly a wide, north-south aligned medieval ditch, C06, and associated linear features, C7, C11, C13, C14. A number of glazed and unglazed medieval pottery sherds were recovered from the features. Post-medieval activity was identified in a large field boundary ditch, C05, field drains, C12, C15, and a recut, C60, of ditch C06. The site was heavily disturbed by a rectangular concrete foundation (11m east-west by 8.5m) and pits with modern construction waste. The late 20th-century foundation and associated dumping did truncate most of the features, however, it was possible to identify and record them.
An area of 15m east-west by 12.5m was opened up for full excavation at the eastern end of the site, nearest to the Well Road, where the archaeological features had been identified. The western part of the site was heavily disturbed. Ten features were identified, two north-south aligned ditches (C06 and C54), three east-west aligned gullies (C07, C11 and C35), three pits (C10, C16 and C32) and a linear feature of unknown function (C13). A total of 53 sherds of pottery, one fragment of two-colour floor tile, 128 fragments of animal bone (cow, sheep/goat, cat & horse), 4 fragments of burnt bone and fragments of edible marine mollusc shell were recovered from the features, suggesting the site is likely associated with the development and use of burgage plots in the medieval village of Ratoath.

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