County: Meath Site name: Fairyhouse Road, Commons, Jamestown, Ratoath
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 21E0511
Author: Caroline Cosgrove, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit
Site type: Possible prehistoric activity (pits, post-holes, spreads)
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 701928m, N 750512m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.494730, -6.463853
An archaeological assessment in the form of geophysical survey and test trenching was carried out at Fairyhouse Road, Commons, Jamestown, in Ratoath, Co. Meath.
An Archaeological Impact Assessment report was carried out in June 2020 by ACSU and recommended the site should be archaeologically assessed by means of a geophysical survey followed by test trenching.
A program of geophysical survey was carried out in February and March 2020, under licence 20R0026. No anomalies representing definite archaeological features were identified; however, a number of magnetic anomalies scattered across the site suggested that there is a potential for archaeological features such as pits, spreads and kilns. The geophysical report recommended test trenching, targeting anomalies identified in order to establish their nature, depth and significance. Subsequently, test trenching was undertaken in August 2021. In total, 42 test trenches with a width of 1.8m each and measuring a total of 4,886m metres were excavated.
Three main areas of archaeology were identified and consisted of ploughed-out archaeological features (pits, post-holes and spreads) with no surface expression. In the south extent of Field 5, a number of burnt pits were exposed in close proximity to each other in Trench 30 and 30a (four burnt pits C21, C23, C28 and C26; four pits C29, C33, C67 and C69 and three possible features C35, C37 and C41). To the north-east, an additional pit, C59, and potential pit C57 were identified in Trench 19. In Field 1, several pits and post-holes were identified in Trenches 3 and 4 (in Trench 3, four pits C79, C81, C83 and C95, a possible gully C77 and five post-holes C85, C87, C89 C91 and C93; in Trench 4, three pits C71, C73 and C99). In addition, a large number of linear features were interpreted as field ditches and drains were exposed across the site. There was a small number of large field boundaries in Field 5. Two of these are visible above the ground and are marked on all the Ordnance Survey maps (1835, 1909 and 1958). The north to south aligned field boundary ditch (C11) contained red brick.
Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth
