County: Meath Site name: Maynooth Road, Dunboyne
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 22E0533
Author: Ian Russell
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 701161m, N 742022m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.418607, -6.478138
The site is located directly west of Maynooth Road, Dunboyne, Co. Meath, within the very west portion of the grounds of St Peter's National School. It consisted of a portion of a yard and a green area, with a prefabricated portacabin at the very south and was bounded by a low stone wall and metal fencing from the east, a stream from the south and a graveyard boundary wall from the north. It lies adjacent to and south of a medieval graveyard (ME050-021004-), within which is an associated church (ME050-021001-), architectural fragment (ME050-021002-) and two fonts (ME050-021003- and ME050-021006- ). The site and the above monuments are also located within the zone of archaeological potential for a settlement cluster (ME050-021----) that likely developed around Dunboyne parish church and castle but was never incorporated as a town. To the south lies a cluster of monuments, including a castle - ringwork (ME050-021007-), a castle - tower house (ME050-021005-), a building (ME050-021009-) and a ring-ditch (ME050-021008-), while to the north there is the site of a 13th-century ditch discovered during test excavations undertaken in 2014 (ME050-021010-). Furthermore, the site is located within the demesne lands of Dunboyne Castle, as depicted on the 1836 OS map.
The groundworks carried out on site as part of the proposed development were archaeologically monitored on 16 and 17 August 2022. These consisted of 11 foundation trenches, excavated using a 14-tonne mechanical excavator. These trenches measured 1m wide, and between 8.5m and 10m in length. The depths varied, ranging between 0.80m and 2m and in total, they covered an area of approximately 252 square metres.
Nothing of archaeological significance was exposed during these groundworks, with the excavated ground consisting of redeposited clays, construction debris and felled trees. All archaeological works are now completed on the site and no further archaeological mitigation is required.
Unit 21 Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth
