2024:685 - Whitestown, Greenore, Louth

Archaeological investigations (test excavation & metal detection) were carried out at Whitestown, Greenore, Co. Louth in October of 2024. The site contains a monument, a souterrain (LH009-010), described as inaccessible and consisting of two or more passages. A triangulation station is roughly depicted on the 1834 map at the monument’s location. On the 1907 map, a cave, a coastguard signal station, and a flagstaff (F.S.) are labelled. The site contains a Protected Structure, listed in the Louth County Development Plan 2021 – 2027: the former Observation Compound at Whitestown incorporating Ballagan Point Look Out Post 01 (WWII) and a 19th-century Coastguard Signal Station (RPS ID. LHS009-055). Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment (McKevitt 2023) was prepared for the site. It comprises a written and photographic record of the fabric of the former Coastguard Signal Station and Compound, including Look Out Post (LOP) 01.
A total of 2 test trenches (Trenches 1-2) were excavated across the footprint of the site with the depth of the topsoil ranging between 0.12m and 0.7m. The natural was mixed. Bands of gravel beside a yellow-brown coloured sand. There were also pockets of cream-coloured clay. There was also an orangey-brown sandy clay with gravels and occasional larger rounded stones.
No features were identified in Trench 1. A modern field boundary ditch was identified in Trench 2. The 1st edition Ordnance Survey (OS) 6-inch map (surveyed 1834 – published 1836), show that the location of the site was within one large open field. By 1907, as seen in the 3rd edition Ordnance Survey (OS) 25-inch map (surveyed 1907 – published 1909), the site area had been subdivided into different-sized, smaller fields. The boundary ditch identified in Trench 2 corresponds with the cartographic location of the field boundary ditch. A sherd of refined earthenware ceramic with a white glaze on both sides (Whiteware – 19th/20th-century date) was recovered from the bottom of the ditch.
The results of the test trenching did not identify any archaeological features or deposits. The location of the souterrain (LH009-010) was also not identified. It is recommended that archaeological monitoring of any groundworks takes place.