County: Louth Site name: Site 1, Ballymakenny Road, Yellowbatter, Drogheda
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 22E0734
Author: David Bayley and Tim Coughlan
Site type: Curvilinear ditch
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 708975m, N 777645m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.737049, -6.348206
Test trenching took place over three days in November 2022 at Ballymakenny Road, Yellowbatter, Drogheda, Co. Louth to study the impact of the first phase of a development. Testing followed on from a geophysical survey, and a total of 21 trenches were excavated. Topsoil consisted of a well-tilled friable brown soil which varied in depth across the site from 0.27–0.4m. Subsoil was generally a light brown silty clay with plastic compaction, and occasional to moderate gravel inclusions (10–30mm diameter).
The main archaeological feature identified during testing was a curvilinear ditch in the northeast of the site, adjacent the site boundary. A roughly semi-circular anomaly was identified on the geophysical survey (geophysical anomaly 3) and was targeted by T1–3. A section of probable ditch was identified in each trench corresponding to the location of the geophysical anomaly. It was investigated by hand in T3 where it is confirmed as being 2.5m wide and 0.59m deep. It contains four deposits. The curvilinear ditch may represent approximately half of a circular enclosure, which potentially extends beyond the limit of the current site east of the field boundary. It is estimated that the full diameter of the enclosure is c. 40m. No evidence for internal features was identified in the excavated test trenches.
Linear anomalies (geophysical anomaly 4), to the west of the Phase 1 site, but within the proposed compound footprint were also investigated at this time. Evidence for linear features was identified in T16–18. They varied slightly but measured between 0.9m and 1.1m in width and 0.15m and 0.2m in depth. Hand investigation of these features revealed that they contain a similar fill of grey silty clay. In T16 two sherds of early modern ceramic were identified in the upper level of the fill.
Parallel to the linear feature in T18 is an agricultural field drain. The ceramic evidence and the adjacent parallel gravel drain suggest these features are not archaeological.
T13 targeted two circular anomalies (not identified in geophysics as being of archaeological potential) but no corresponding archaeology or geological features were identified.
c/o IAC Ltd, Unit G1 Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow
