DOWDSTOWN 1
| Site Name/Townland | Description | Provisional site type | Provisional dating |
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| Dowdstown 1 | Building foundations and laneway | Vernacular building. | Early Modern |
The foundations and brick floor of an early 19th century house and part of a cobbled road were uncovered during testing in Dowdstown townland in 2004. No surface trace of the early modern house and road were evident prior to testing. Archaeological excavations and post excavations carried out by ACS Ltd at this site, located to the south of Dowdstown Demesne (now Dalgan Park), are now complete. Below preliminary results are presented. The final excavation report is also available for download.
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Extract of first edition Ordnance Survey map (1836) showing the location of Dowdstown 1, which is indicated by the blue circle in the lower left of the image. The main Dunshaughlin to Navan road (coming from Dublin) runs south-east to north-west through the map, crossed at the Philpotstown crossroads by the road travelling to Ballinter Cross and southwest towards Trim. The old Tara road runs south from Dowdstown Bridge, passing the Dowdstown 1 site to the west. The line of the old road leading northwards can be traced within Dowdstown Demesne where it continues as a small road or path through the estate. (Maps reproduced from copy in Trinity College Library, Dublin, with permission of the Board of Trinity College. OS Sheet 31, Scale 1:10,560) |
The archaeological excavations revealed a rectangular structure with stone wall foundations surviving around its southern half and the remains of a porch floor projecting from the eastern wall.
| Aerial view of site at Dowdstown 1 during excavation, showing remains of the brick floor and stone wall foundations of the house. The cobbled surface of the old road can be seen crossing the site to the right of the house. (Photo Hawkeye) | 
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Internally the structure is divided into three rooms, a central living area with two bedrooms or a bedroom and parlour at either end. A hearth is located on the internal dividing wall at the north end of the living area. Houses divided by one or more internal walls with a centrally located hearth were usually entered through a small lobby. A jamb wall was frequently erected opposite the front door, adjacent to the fire hearth, with a door opening off either side of the lobby. A post hole uncovered during the excavation of the central room suggests that this might have been the case at Dowdstown 1.
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Detail of hearth uncovered during excavations of the house at Dowdstown 1. |
The floor of the structure where it survived comprised well-laid red bricks, which were used throughout the interior as well as in the porch. The use of bricks in this context is unusual. Bricks were not introduced at vernacular level until the late 18th century and not widely used until the late 19th century (Aalen et al. 2003, 155).
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| Remains of the brick floor, hearth and stone wall foundations of the house at Dowdstown 1. (Photo Hawkeye) | Archaeologist excavating old road at Dowdstown 1. (Photo Hawkeye) |
Ditches were uncovered on either side of the cobbled road. Further ditches to the rear of the house were probably the remains of a walled and ditched yard.
Artefacts
Large numbers of artefacts were recovered, which consisted of predominantly domestic and agricultural tools. These included scissors, pottery and glass sherds, numerous cauldron fragments, a poker and a turned bone lace making bobbin.
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Turned bone lace making bobbin recovered during excavations at Dowdstown 1.
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View of Dowdstown Bridge, with the grounds of Dalgan Park (former Dowdstown Demesne) in the background. |
Cartographic Research
The house and old roadway are shown on the first, second and third edition Ordnance Survey Maps.
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Structure at Dowdstown 1 as depicted on first edition Ordnance Survey map (1836). The structure is rectangular in plan and is located within its own small plot fronting onto the road, immediately east of a copse of trees or possible orchard. A second structure is depicted on the map within this plot, situated alongside the northern plot boundary and perpendicular to the first structure. The old road leading south to Tara runs along the eastern plot boundary. | |
| Structure at Dowdstown 1 as depicted on second edition Ordnance Survey map (1882). Only the structure fronting onto the old road is shown on this edition and the western plot boundary wall has been removed. The old road no longer runs southwards through this field and is only partially preserved as a field boundary from Dowdstown Bridge to the house plot. | 
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| Structure at Dowdstown 1 as depicted on third edition Ordnance Survey map (1911). The structure is shown on this edition as an outline only, suggesting that it was no longer in use at the time of the Ordnance Survey revisions. | 
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Return to Section 2.
Final Report
Please click on the link to access the final archaeological report for Dowdstown 1
| Dowdstown 1 Final Report | 22.8MB |
