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Enclosure in Roestown (ratoath By.)

Enclosure

What is recorded here

In the late sixth or early seventh century, a shallow ditch linked two existing fences to form a small D-shaped enclosure at Roestown. Later, that same ditch stretched north and turned west, doubling the space and claiming more of the landscape. The larger boundary contained animal bone and a single iron object, suggesting people lived there long enough to leave behind the ordinary remains of daily life.
In Area B Enclosure 13 was created during Phase 1 in the late sixth or early seventh century by connecting the fosses of enclosures 10 and 12 with a shallow ditch (L 17.4m; Wth 0.9m; D 0.35m), thus enclosing a small D-shaped area (dims 12m N-S; 15m E-W). The enclosure was expanded into a larger D-shaped area (dims 28m N-S; 15m E-W) by extending the connecting ditch N (Wth 1.2m; D 0.5m) and turning it W to meet the fosse of Enclosure 1. This can only have happened after Enclosure 10 fell into disuse. Its four layers contained some animal bone, but apart from one iron object no artefacts were recovered from it. (O’Hara 2009, 20; 2009a) True location: ITM (695715, 753810) See the attached images from O'Hara (2009, figs 7, 44, pl. 2) _2 Site plan; _3 Phase 1; _7 Aerial view; O’Hara, R. 2009 M3 Clonee - North of Kells, Contract 2 Dunshaughlin - Navan. Final Report on the Archaeological Excavation of Roestown 2, Co. Meath. Licence: E003055. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Services O’Hara, R. 2009a Early Medieval Settlement at Roestown 2. In Deevy, M. and Donald Murphy 2009 Places Along the Way, 57-82. NRA Scheme Monographs: 5.

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What survives
Recorded monument

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