2023:186 - Billistown, Westmeath

An archaeological assessment with testing for a proposed single house site was requested by Westmeath County Council.  The proposed single house site is located in the townland of Billistown and civil parish and barony of Delvin in Co. Westmeath. The village of Delvin is located approximately 1.6 km to the north-east of the site and the N52 is located to the south-east. Billistown Castle – Hall-house WM013-031 is located in the same field, approximately 150 m to the north-west of the proposed house site.

The field is in pasture and was reclaimed c. 15 years ago. Both the castle and the proposed house site are located on slight plateaus in the field. These slightly elevated areas are separated by a hollow while the ground to the south-east of the proposed house site slopes to the south-east, towards the road. The topography in the field is probably due to the nature of the underlying rock. The castle is visible from the proposed house site and vice versa.

Test trenches were excavated by machine on the footprint of the proposed access road, site of the garage and site of the proposed house. Three test trenches were excavated on the line of the access road. They measured 12m x 2m, 6m x 2m and 8m x 2m respectively. The interval between the trenches was 10m. A single trench was excavated on the site of the garage. Two trenches, cruciform in plan, were excavated on the footprint of the proposed single house site. They measured 16m x 2m north-east/south-west by 14m (x 2m). The depth of the topsoil and the nature of the stony subsoil was very uniform in nature in the trenches on the footprint of the house site and the garage.

No archaeological features, stratigraphy or artefacts were recorded in any of the six test trenches excavated on the footprint of the proposed single house site.

Eachtra Archaeological Projects, Lickybeg, Clashmore, Co Waterford