Field boundary

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated in a slight fold in a gently undulating landscape, with rock outcrop close to the surface at the S edge of the hollow. 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 (E003141) in November and December 2006 by E. Lyne (2011) as Kilmainham 1A when an L-shaped area of 7000 square metres was opened. The excavated area was just SW of the multi-period complex of Kilmainham 1C. Two Neolithic structures, a Bronze Age hut-site, a prehistoric boundary and a flat cemetery, were recorded as well as an early medieval cereal-drying kiln and a long ditch that extended into Kilmainham 1C (excavations.ie 2007:1334).

A winding gully (Wth 0.63m; D 0.33m; L 80m plus) meandered NW-SE along the top of the slight rise overlooking the circular hut-site, and while it may have retained a palisade it never came closer than c. 15-20m to the hut-site. It followed the high ground and was re-cut once towards its S end. It had two fills of grey or brown sandy silt, and a sample of cherry charcoal from the fill returned a radiocarbon determination of 1497-1415 cal. BC (UBA 12097), placing it firmly in the Middle Bronze Age and contemporary with the hut-site. A pit (dims 1.9m x 1.1m; D 0.3m) and a hearth (dims 1.22m x 0.5m; D 0.14m) were placed immediately W of the gully towards its N end and c. 5m from each other. No artefacts were recovered from these features, but the pit was slightly cut by the gully. (Lyne 2011, 27-8, 32-4)

See the attached plans adapted from Lyne (2011, figs 7, 11)
ME017-085_1 Site plan;
ME01`7-085005- Boundary;

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 16 March 2022

References

Lyne, E. 2011 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 4, Navan to Kells and Kells Bypass. Final Report on Kilmainham 1A, Co. Meath. Licence: E003141. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy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 Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy