2025:233 - Kellystown Wind Farm, Louth

Test trenching was carried out at this site. All of the identified archaeology was
contained within Field 9, which was located towards the centre/southern extent of the proposed development. Archaeology was identified in Trenches 36, 39, 41, 42, 43, 100 and 101 and consisted of the following:
Trench 36 – An arc of 8 post-holes (C3601) which extended east to west at the western
extent of the trench. They extended over a length of 9m. The post-holes were all filled with brown clay and charcoal. They varied in diameter from 0.5m to 0.7m and were all circular or oval in shape. They appeared to arc slightly, suggesting they are on the northern side of a circular feature that extended further south.
Trench 39 – A cluster of 5 post-holes (C3901, C3902, C3904, C3906, C3907), a stake-hole (C3905), and an area of burning (C3903) were visible toward the northern end of the trench. The post-holes were circular and measured 0.2m by 0.2m/0.15m by 0.15m, and the stake-hole measured 0.06m by 0.06m, and all surrounded the area of burning (C3903), which measured 0.5m by 0.6m.
Trench 41 – A significant area of burning (C4101) was located halfway down the trench, in close proximity to the location of the burnt spread C4202 in Trench 42. It was filled with frequent charcoal fragments and burnt stones.
Trench 42 – A linear feature (C4201), aligned north-west to south-east, and filled with grey brown clay, was identified. It measured 1m in width. A fragment of red brick was recovered from the fill, which was very loose and soft. This was interpreted as an agricultural feature and was not archaeological. A burnt stone spread (C4202) was also identified. It measured 9m in length north-south and extended beyond the trench to the east and west. It consisted of lots of charcoal and fire-cracked sandstone. The depth of spread, where tested, was 0.3m.
Trench 43 – Three burnt spreads (C4301-C4301), which were possibly related to the burnt spread C4202 in Trench 42, were identified. C4301 measured 2m in length by 1m in width. It was located at the northern end of the trench. It was a possible continuation of the burnt spread (C4202) recorded in Trench 42. C4302 measured 1.3m by 0.6m in width. It was located close to the burnt spread C4303 at the southern end of Trench 43. C4303 measured 2.7m in length by 0.5m in width. It was located at the southern end of Trench 43. All three spreads consisted of a black sandy clay, burnt stones and charcoal fragments.
Trench 100 – The trench was excavated south from the very top of the east-west running ridge. Four features, including two ditches (C10001, C10002) and two pits (C10003, C10004), were identified. The trench sloped gradually to the south from the top. Features identified on the geophysical survey were detected (C10001, C10002), along with additional archaeological features (C10003, C10004). The ditch C10001 measured 1.2-1.5m in width and ran east-west through the trench but curved northwards at the east end. It was filled with a stony grey-brown clay. This feature aligned with a geophysical anomaly – a circular ring ditch at this location and C10101 in Trench 101. Ditch C10002 measured 2.2m in width and was aligned east-west. It was aligned with an anomaly identified on the geophysical survey. There appears to be at least two fills. Along the north side, a light brown clay measuring 0.8m in width was identified along the north edge. The remaining part of the ditch was filled with a dark brown clay with lots of stone and charcoal.
The large circular pit C10003 was located on the upper break of the southern slope of the east-west running ridge. It measured 0.8m in diameter. It was filled with a dark brown clay and charcoal. Located 8m south of the outer ditch of a rectangular enclosure shown on the geophysical survey (C10002).
The large circular pit C10004 was located at the base of the southern slope of the east-west running ridge. It measured 0.95m in diameter. It was filled with a dark brown clay, charcoal, and some burnt sandstone. It is very likely that other features occur outside the trench.
Trench 101 – Three linear features (C10102, C10103, C10104) and a ring ditch (C10101). The proposed development has the potential to impact all the aforementioned features. No additional features were found throughout the remainder of the development, and there will be no archaeological impact.