Structure

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in a slight NW-SE fold on a fairly level landscape. Archaeological testing (04E0917) by J. Roynane (2005) at Testing Area 10 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified (excavations.ie 2004:1270) archaeological material that was fully excavated (E003143) in late October and early November 2006 by D. Bayley (2011) as Kilmainham 2 (excavations.ie 2007:1337) when an area of 1600 square metres was opened and a rectangular structure was recorded. This is part of an extensive prehistoric settlement complex, the core of which is c. 300m to the E and was excavated as Kilmainham 1 in three sections.

Four postholes could have formed a rectangular structure (dims c. 7.5m NE-SW; c. 2.5m NW-SE at NE to 5m NW-SE at SW). A stone bead came from one of the postholes, and the rimsherd of a coarse domestic pot together with fragments of burnt bone were recovered from another, but only a very small quantity of carbonised barley was present in environmental samples. A piece of hazel charcoal from the same context as the rimsherd yielded the C14 date 1112-921 cal. BC (UBA 12066), placing it in the Late Bronze Age. There were also two pits (diam. 1.75-1.8m; D 0.3m: diam. 1.45m; D 0.45m), the larger with as stone lining, c. 5-9m to the SE with fills containing some burnt bone and charred grains as well as crumbs of Bronze Age pottery but they had either a small quantity of cereals or none. There were seven other pits in the area, including the largest (dims 2.9m x 1m; D 0.42m) within the posts of the structure, but only one sherd of mid to late Bronze Age pottery and some crumbs of a similar ware were recovered. However, one of the pits that was sampled had seven wood species but only one carbonized grain of hulled barley that provided a C14 date of 510-387 cal. BC (UBA 12065). (Bayley 2011, 5-9)

See the attached plans adapted from Bayley (2011, fig. 6)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 16 March 2022

References

Bayley, D. 2010 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 4, Navan to Kells and Kells Bypass. Final Report on Kilmainham 2, Co. Meath. Licence: E003143. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy

Roynane, J. 2005 M3 Clonee-North of Kells; Contract 4, Navan - Kells and Kells Bypass. Report on Archaeological Assessment at Testing Area 10 in Kilmainham, County Meath. Licence: 04E0917. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy