County: Louth Site name: Darver Graveyard, Darver
Sites and Monuments Record No.: LH011-098002 Licence number: 23E0830
Author: Glenn Gibney, Archaeological Consultancy Services Unit Ltd
Site type: Graveyard
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 700844m, N 798633m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.927218, -6.464520
Archaeological test excavations were carried out at Daver Graveyard, Darver, Co.
Louth. Two test trenches measuring 2m x 2m were hand dug along the northern
boundary wall.
Darver Graveyard (LH011-098002) and its internal (ruined) church (LH011-098001) are listed within the Record of Monuments and Places for County Louth (1997) as LH011-098. The north boundary of the graveyard wall running along an unnamed local road also acts as a retention wall. However, the wall is unmortared, and the portion to the east of the entrance to the graveyard, measuring c. 10m, has suffered damage and has collapsed with potential for further damage without intervention. The road that the graveyard wall is adjacent to is narrow, while the northern boundary of the road is associated with Darver Castle LH011-096----. Darver Castle is also a Protected Structure (RPS ID. LHS011-028) listed in the Louth County Development Plan 2021-2027 and is also listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH Reg. No. 13901118). Consequently,
there is no option to widen the road northwards, and there is no space to construct a replacement wall outside of the graveyard boundary wall, as this would impact road safety. The site is in the ownership of Louth County Council.
Excavations took place in advance of a stabilisation and reconstruction works by Louth County Council. Prior to excavation, a detailed 3D scan of the eastern wall was conducted as a record of the wall prior to the commencement of works.
Trench 1 was the western trench. A single archaeological feature was found at the south end of the trench, C7, a small oval pit. Two fragments of disarticulated human bone were found in the fill of the cut for the boundary wall. Trench 2 was the eastern trench where four archaeological deposits were found at the south
end of the trench. These were C10, C12, C13 and C14 and all appear to be deposits rather than cut features. However, the full extent of these deposits was not found as they ran beyond the limit of excavation. Seventeen artefacts were recovered from the two trenches; all were post-medieval in origin.
Archaeological testing is now complete. Repair works to the boundary wall are to be archaeologically monitored. As they will be impacted by the repair of the wall, it is recommended that features found during testing be preserved by record (excavated).
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