What is recorded here

Owenstown holds a forgotten grid of sixty acres where grass-covered scarps and shallow ditches still mark the edges of vanished fields. The largest plots stretched two hundred metres, rounded at the corners like stones worn by water, while a smaller cluster of narrow gardens occupied one corner. No house remains visible, suggesting the fields may have belonged to people who lived elsewhere or disappeared without leaving a shadow. The ground remembers the shape of hands that worked it, even when every wall and doorway has returned to soil.

Situated on a fairly level landscape. A relict field system is visible on an oblique aerial photographs (CUCAP: AVT091-3) from 1968, showing large rectangular fields with rather rounded corners (dims c. 200m x c. 100m) defined by grass-covered scarps (Wth c. 5m; H 0.4-0.5m) and ditches (Wth c. 2-5m). In the corner of one current field is an area with smaller plots (dims c. 30-40m x c. 10-20m). There are some banks present but most of the plots are defined by straight ditches (Wth c. 3-5m; D 0.5m) and there are some ponds. This is a small area covering about 4 acres (c. 1.5ha) but the complete system covers an area of about 60 acres (c. 23 ha). No house sites were recognised and the larger fields could be post-medieval in date. It is also visible on more recent series of vertical imagery. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Meath' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1987). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 10 July 2007 Amended: 29 October 2021

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