County: Louth Site name: Ballymakenny Road, Yellowbatter, Drogheda
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 18E0550 ext.
Author: Donald Murphy
Site type: Enclosure and pits
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 708877m, N 777333m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.734267, -6.349800
Test trenching was carried out at Phase 2: Ballymakenny Road, Yellowbatter, Drogheda, Co. Louth at the request of the client, to assess the archaeological potential of the site following a geophysical survey carried out by Donald Murphy in May 2021 under licence number 21R0044. Testing took place between 6 to 10 May 2021.
A total of 24 test trenches were excavated across the relevant areas. Each trench measured 1.8m in width, and in total, 1817m of linear trenches were excavated, targeting anomalies identified during the geophysical survey.
Testing of Phase 2 succeeded in identifying the remains of an oval/circular enclosure measuring c.40m in diameter at the southern edge of the field. The ringfort ditch (C13) measured 2.52m in width to a depth of 0.9m and had been filled with mid-brown silty clay (C5). Internally a total of 11 possible pits (C7-C12, C14, C16-C17 & C21) were identified. One additional isolated possible pit (C18) was also identified within Trench 21 to the east.
A large number of post-medieval field drains (C4) and a modern field boundary (C3) were also identified in many of the test trenches, and a 19th-century laneway depicted on the first edition OS map was identified within Trench 22.
No further archaeological features or deposits were identified outside of Trenches 10, 15 and 21. The north part of the site (Phase 3) was not subject to test trenching.
Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit, Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth
