Field system

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on a S-facing slope at the E extremity of what might have been the medieval extent of Ratoath. It might also be on the grounds of the Manor House, an eighteenth century mansion just to the NW. The Manor House is probably on the site of the medieval manor house, which was described in an inquisition of 1333 as half an acre surrounded by a square ditch (Orpen 1921) and was probably a moated site. Archaeological testing (01E0359) by J. Ó Neill in a green area of about 4 acres (c. 1.5 ha) identified cultivation ridges (Wth c. 1m) which produced medieval pottery, while medieval pottery was also recovered from the topsoil (excavations.ie 2001: 1041). The furrows survived best at the bottom of the slope close to W-E Broad Meadow River but not on the flat ground immediately adjacent to it. In the same area there were also deeper ditches (Wth c. 0.6-3m) placed c. 12m apart cut into the subsoil and dividing the area into plots. No house structures or evidence of settlement was recorded in the area. (O’Neill 2001)
Further monitoring (02E1454) by M. Fitzpatrick recovered more medieval and post-medieval pottery from the topsoil and identified further N-S or NW-SE linear cut features (Wth 1.4m ; D 0.5m) (excavations.ie 2002:1515). These were placed c. 10-15m apart with some slighter E-W cuts (Wth 0.5m; D 0.01m) off-set from them. The latter are probably furrows but the former are probably boundaries delineating burgher plots from the medieval settlement. No house sites were identified. The area was subsequently developed for modern housing. (Fitzpatrick 2001)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 9 December 2021

References

Ó Neill, J. 2001 Archaeological assessment, Ratoath, Co. Meath. Licence No. 01E0359. Unpublished report, Margaret Gowen & Co.

Fitzpatrick, M. 2002 Archaeological Report on Monitoring of Groundworks at Ratoath, County Meath. Licence: 02E1454. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.