2024:742 - Charterschoolland and Manorlands, Trim, Meath

Archaeological testing was carried out over the course of three days from 15 April 2024 using a mechanical excavator fitted with a flat grading bucket. The location of high voltage overhead wires in the western field meant that most of the interior and the eastern extent of the possible enclosure (ME036-026) was not available for testing.  The north and north-western extent of the eastern field was also unavailable for testing due to the presence of modern debris and large extents of concrete and hardstanding. The trenches targeted geophysical anomalies and available open green space in order to fully investigate the archaeological potential of the site.

One area of archaeological potential was identified, and this has been designated Archaeological Area 1 (AA1). Trenches 17–19 targeted enclosure ME036-026 that was initially identified on aerial photography as a rectilinear cropmark. The enclosure was subsequently identified in the 2005 geophysical survey and was identified and recorded in all three trenches. The enclosure is rectilinear in plan measuring 60m west–east by 40m and the enclosing ditch (C3) measures 3.3m wide and 1.7m deep. The ditch contains three to four stony clayey sand fills with occasional well-preserved animal bone inclusions. Nothing diagnostic was retrieved from the ditch sections therefore the ditch remains undated. No internal or external features were identified during testing though it is likely that some associated features may exist outside the limit of the excavated test trenches. The remainder of the trenches identified a series of north–south aligned post-medieval/modern agricultural features comprising furrows and a field boundary ditch.