Hut site

The National Monuments Service's description

Structure 1 is just 9m N of Structure 2. It is a circular area (ext. diam. c. 8m) defined by a series of twelve pits within which was a circle of ten postholes spaced c. 2m apart (diam. c. 5.2m). There is an entrance porch (L c. 1.3m; Wth c. 0.7m) at ESE formed by two pits, but the pits (diam. 0.41m; D 0.3m to dims 2.5m x 0.65m; D 0.25m) were largely absent SW-NW. The pits had evidence of burning, probably marking its abandonment, and one (dims 1.6m x 1.2m; D 0.3m) contained a large polished stone axe (L 0.23m), a saddle quern, a grinding stone and a rubbing stone, while seven sherds of pottery came from other pits. Only a small quantity of cereals were noted in the charcoal samples that were dominated by hazel, and a sample of hazel from one of the external pits returned a C14 date of 1520-1310 cal. BC (SUREC 29331) that was corroborated by a fragment of burnt bone from another of 1499-1415 cal. BC (UBA 12937). The only internal feature was a cluster of nine stakeholes inside the perimeter at S and there was no internal hearth although a burnt pit (dims 1.4m x 0.58m; D 0.1m) c. 6m to the S and about 2m N of the other hut-site could have been a hearth and been relevant to both structures.

The porch opened onto an area with four small metalled surfaces (diam. 0.5m; T 0.25m to diam. 1.4m; D 0.15m) and eight larger ones (dims 3.3m x 1.4m; D 0.13m to diam. 3m; T 0.1m) which were largely concentrations of a widespread stony surface that was filling hollows and the porch itself had a stone surface. The external surfaces were working areas and fragments of two querns were in the surfaces and some pottery sherds were also recovered from them. There was a concentration of some postholes and stakeholes at one point but the area also had some unassociated pits that may have been relevant, including one (dims 2.28m x 1m; D 0.1m) with Middle Bronze Age pottery sherds. Some features pre-dated the surfaces, including a small pit (diam. 0.2m; D 0.03m) that had a perforated stone with a milled edge that is interpreted as a spindle whorl. The hut-site was cut by a N-S post-medieval ditch (Wth 0.9m; D 0.55m) that also cut the other hut-site. (Kelly 2010, 6-15)

See the attached plans adapted from Kelly (2010, figs 6, 8)

ME024-035_1 Site plan;
ME024-035004-_1 Monument plan;

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 24 March 2022

References

Kelly, A. 2010 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 4, Navan to Kells and Kells Bypass. Final Report on Archaeological Excavation of Grange 3, Co. Meath. Licence: E003123. 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 2 in Grange, County Meath. Licence: 04E0925. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy