What is recorded here

Merrywell 1 held a medieval field system on a slight south-facing slope in County Meath, dated between 1174 and 1281. Broad ditches cut through yellow-grey clay, binding the land into manageable sections while later post-medieval channels crossed the older lines. The excavation recovered Leinster cooking ware, Dublin-type pots and iron nails, proving that ordinary people lived loudly beside these quiet boundaries before the motorway took the site.

Situated on a slight S-facing slope. Archaeological centre-line testing (04E0483) by T. O’Neill of Testing Area 21, Contract 1, prior to the construction of the M3 motorway and associated works (excavations.ie: 2004:1228) identified archaeological material, which was subsequently excavated (E003051) by A. O’Connell as Merrywell 1 in Knockmark parish between August and October 2005 (excavations.ie 2005:AD13). The well (ME044-0068001-) spills into a boundary ditch (Wth c. 2.6m; D c. 1.2m) that extends off to the SE, accompanied by a slighter, post-medieval gully (Wth 1.65m; D 0.38m) 3m to the SW. Further S a similar post-medieval gully diverges from the medieval ditch on the E side, the gap widening as it proceeds S. There is another boundary ditch (Wth c. 2.25m; D c. 0.5m) on the same alignment c. 45m to the NE, and a sample from it produced a radiocarbon determination of 1174-1281 cal. AD and is probably a reasonable date for the fields. Some furrows aligned on these boundaries were also recorded. A later iteration of the NE boundary ditch is c. 10m to the SW and produced a late medieval assemblage but a post-medieval date of 1663-1953 cal. AD. Both the medieval boundaries were cut by a NE-SW gully (Wth 1.85m; D 0.75m) and ditch (Wth 3m; D 1m) that are barely 1m apart, and the post-medieval gully accompanying the principal medieval boundary ditch feeds into this gully. The ditches, filled with yellow-grey-brown silty and stony clays, produced copious quantities of high medieval material including iron nails, Leinster cooking ware and Dublin-type wares with residual prehistoric flints. (O’Connell and Ginn 2009, 3-4) See the attached plan of the field drains from O'Connell and Ginn (2009, fig. 7) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 10 December 2021 O’Connell, A. & V. Ginn 2009 M3 Clonee - North of Kells, Contract 1 Clonee – Dunshaughlin. Final Report on the Archaeological Excavation of Merrywell 1, Co. Meath. Licence: E003051. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Services OD 108.03m; (693296, 751001) Well No for RMP 693344, 750928 for charcoal clamp O’Neill, T. 2004 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 1, Report on Archaeological Assessment at Testing Area 21, Merrywell, County Meath. Licence: 04E0483. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Services

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