EMAP_Progress_Reports_2009_2.pdf - The Heritage Council

Louth
Site 4 at Marshes Upper revealed three souterrains and an enclosure (Fig. 211). One of the
Souterrains (Souterrain C) lay outside the enclosure. Souterrain A was T-shaped in plan and
was 40m long. An 11m passage led to a junction where it continued for 18m to the northern
chamber and 10m to a western chamber. The passage was between 1m and 1.5m in width
and the chambers measured between 1.6m and 2m, and 1.3m and 1.7m respectively. A
secondary fill at the entrance contained a high charcoal content, a souterrain ware sherd and
a quernstone fragment. Artefacts were absent from the northern and western chambers.
Souterrain B was crescent-shaped in plan and 25m long. A primary deposit at the
entranceway contained lots of charcoal. An un-calibrated radiocarbon date of A.D. 848±50
was obtained from this fill. A number of finds were also revealed including souterrain ware
sherds, a jet bracelet fragment, two hammer stones, a bronze stick pin and a bone comb.
The chamber contained a layer of paving slabs and a layer of silt below this produced
fragments of souterrain ware and four iron objects.
Souterrain C was L-shaped and measured 16m in length. A 10m-long passage turned west
towards a chamber. A deposit at the entrance produced a large volume of iron slag, a furnace
bottom, a bronze mount and sherds of souterrain ware. The latter were from the same pot as
those found in Souterrain B which suggests a contemporary deposition of the finds at both
sites.
The enclosure at Site 4, similarly to Site 3, survived as a very slight feature due to severe
truncation of the area. The enclosure completely enclosed Souterrain A while Souterrain B
was partially enclosed. Souterrain C lay outside the enclosure to the north. Excavation
revealed a 30m length of ditch that averaged 1.5m wide and 0.5m deep. An entrance gap
was potentially located to the south. No evidence for a bank survived and the ditch fill was
devoid of artefacts except for a bone cylinder fragment. A possible outer ditch was identified
1m outside the enclosure ditch.
A large enclosure and souterrain (Marshes Upper Site 5) – discovered during the construction
of a residential development – was excavated in 1982 on a low hill overlooking Dundalk Bay
(Fig. 212). The enclosure measured 100m by 80m but much of its upper levels had been
destroyed by quarrying. A few fragments of souterrain ware and animal bone were retrieved
from the middle ditch fill and there was evidence for some re-cuts to the ditch. No trace of a
bank survived. The souterrain was located in the south-eastern area of the enclosure and,
similarly to the enclosure ditch, much of it had been destroyed by quarrying. The dry-stone
structure consisted of a ramped entrance and the lower courses of a beehive chamber.
Fragments of souterrain ware were found in a deposit above the chamber floor and inside the
passage entrance.
Another dry-stone souterrain was revealed during the construction of a basketball court at a
school in 1995. It may have been unenclosed as an area 35m to the east was
archaeologically investigated but nothing was found. However, an enclosure may be present
a further distance away so it is impossible to say if this was an open or enclosed souterrain.
The portion of the souterrain investigated was 10.1m long and consisted of two passages;
one was higher and was connected to the lower passage by a drop hole which lead to a
chamber area. The upper passage was 1.9m long, 0.75m high and 0.95m wide and an air
vent was present in the end wall. The lower passage was accessed through the drop hole. It
measured 9.4m in length, was 1.45m high and had a maximum width of 1m. The passage
broadened at the northern area which formed a chamber which was 1.75m wide. No finds
were discovered during excavation.
The most recent excavations in Marshes Upper during the first six months of 2002 – in
advance of the construction of playing fields at the Dundalk Institute of Technology – have
revealed further evidence for early medieval activity including a souterrain, field systems and
a structure. The dry-stone souterrain was discovered during archaeological monitoring. Its cut
was between 2.5m and 3.25m wide and was traced for approximately 60m. It surrounded a
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