Pit-burial

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on a gentle S-facing slope. Archaeological centre-line testing (04E1055) by D. Bayley (2005) at Testing Area 4 of Contract 5 of the M3 motorway (excavations.ie 2004:1223) identified archaeological material that was fully resolved (E003174) by E. Danaher in November 2006 as Drumbaragh 2 (excavations.ie 2006:1548). A small scoop (diam. 0.3m; D 0.02m) had a dark-grey silty clay fill with a small amount of cremated bone that might have been animal or human but it returned a C14 date of 1261-1006 cal. BC (Beta 247169) and is probably the remains of a pit-burial. Another small pit (diam. 0.47m; D 0.16m) was filled with a grey-brown silty clay with charcoal flecks and small stone inclusions but no bone was present. A large pit (dims 5.3m x 3.4m; D 0.5m) was filled with a brown clayey silt with some animal bone and small stone inclusions, but this pit is probably recent. (Danaher 2008)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 4 March 2022

References

Bayley, D. 2005 M3 Clonee-North of Kells; Contract 5, Kells to North of Kells. Report on Archaeological Assessment at Testing Area 4 in Drumbaragh and Castlekeeran, County Meath. Licence: 04E1055. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy

Danaher, E. 2008 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 5, Kells to North of Kells. Final Report on the Archaeological Excavation of Drumbaragh 2, Co. Meath. Licence: E003174. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Services