MERRYWELL 1
| Site Name/ Townland | Description | Basic Interpretation | Provisional dating |
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| Merrywell 1 | Ditches and furrows | Field system | Medieval |
Testing and Geophysical Survey
The site at Merrywell 1 was initially identified by geophysical survey carried out in 2002 in Merrywell townland, a short distance southwest of Dunshaughlin. Archaeological testing carried out in 2004 confirmed the presence of a number of parallel ditches, representing the remains of a possible medieval field system. Finds recovered during testing included two sherds of unglazed medieval pottery, a corroded iron nail and a fragment of a corroded iron knife.
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| Extract of 1st edition Ordnance Survey map (1836) showing location of site at Merrywell 1, indicated by the blue circle shown centre-left on the image. The site lies in a field on the southeastern side of a T-junction formed by the road to Dunshaughlin (heading northeast) and the Trim / Batterstown road (running northwest/southeast). â€Ribstown fort†is shown as a hachured circular enclosure in Kilcooly townland, to the east of the site (RMP ME044-009). (Maps reproduced from copy in Trinity College Library, Dublin, with permission of the Board of Trinity College. OS Sheet 44, Scale 1:10,560) |
Archaeological Excavation
Archaeological excavations carried out by ACS Ltd at this site are now complete and post-excavation analysis is ongoing. The excavations revealed a total of five medieval ditches and three post-medieval ditches, the latter corresponding with linear features identified during geophysical survey.
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| Aerial view of site at Merrywell 1 post-excavation, facing northeast. (Photo StudioLab) |
The ditches ran parallel to each other and all produced a large quantity of medieval pottery. A medieval well was also uncovered during excavation and measured c. 2.2m deep. One of the medieval ditches adjoined the well and sloped slightly away from the well suggesting a possible overflow channel. A worked oak beam (possible roof timber) and an ash wood bowl were recovered from the well during excavation.
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| Archaeologist cleaning exposed timber beam during excavation of the medieval well. The oak beam was uncovered at a depth of c.1.25m. (Courtesy of ACS Ltd.) | View of medieval well and adjoining ditch post-excavation. (Photo StudioLab) | |
Two of the medieval ditches may represent remnants of a medieval ridge and furrow system. Ridges were not created accidentally, but were cast up by the plough in order to create a self-draining seedbed. The furrow also acted as an open drain and served as an ownership demarcation between ridges. In a typical pre-enclosure farming system, villages were surrounded by large, hedgeless `open fields' that were farmed in strips. An individual farmer's holding typically consisted of strips, or ridges, scattered throughout a township, with no two ridges lying together. This scattering of an individual holding was intended to ensure an even distribution of ridges across the fields, which were usually cultivated on a three-year crop rotation, carrying wheat and barley in the first year, beans and peas the next, and left fallow in the third year.
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| Archaeologist holding turned wooden bowl (ash wood) found during excavation. | Drawing of turned wooden bowl. (Courtesy of ACS Ltd.) |
Artefacts
In addition to the oak beam and wooden bowl mentioned above, the excavation produced a remarkable number of medieval pottery sherds. Between 400 and 500 sherds of medieval pottery were recovered from the ditches and well with the majority represented by Dublin-type wares; including Dublin-type cooking ware, Dublin-type ware and Dublin-type coarsware. Other finds include a metal clasp, iron arrowhead and iron knife blade.
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Left: Drawing of timber beam recovered from medieval well, showing dowels still in situ. (Courtesy of ACS Ltd.)
Below left: Socketed iron arrowhead.
Below right: Iron knife blade. |
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| Medieval metal clasp, obverse (below left) and reverse (below right). | ||
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Selection of medieval pottery sherds found during excavtion at Merrywell 1.
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| Rim sherds. | Fragment of decorated handle end. | Decorated handle sherds. | Decorated body sherds. |
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| Base sherd of medieval pot |
Return to Section 1.
Final Report
Please click on the link to access the final archaeological report for Merrywell 1
| Final Report of Merrywell 1 | 4.08MB |
