Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Fulacht fia
Ardbraccan, County Meath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Ardbraccan
- County
- Meath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 53.66334, -6.76067
- SMR number
- ME024-039----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Situated at the bottom of a slight slope down to the E, and with a meandering S-N stream immediately to the E. Archaeological testing (04E0925) by D. Nelis (2005) at Testing Area 1 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified archaeological material (excavations.ie 2004:1245) that was completely excavated (E003120) by C. McManus (2010) as Ardbraccan 6 in June 2006 when almost 1400 square metres were opened. A subcircular, flat-bottomed trough (dims 1.8m x 1.65m; D 0.4m) had a basal layer of brown peaty clay beneath a black charcoal-enriched silty clay with some burnt stone. It had opposed pairs of stakes of alder and ash in the base of the trough and hazel wands from the lower fill suggest that it might have been lined with wicker. A sample of an alder stake returned a C14 date of 2134-1963 cal. BC (UBA 13962), placing it in the Early Bronze Age. The trough was at the S end of the mound of broken and burnt stone (dims 14m N-S; 11.5m E-W; max. T 0.25m) that sealed it, although the mound was truncated slightly on the E side. A sample of the burnt mound material had unburned botanical remains, and buttercup, pale persicaria and elderberry were identified. An oval pit (dims 1.08m x 0.745m; D 0.23m) with a rounded base was outside the mound at S and another pit (dims 0.74m x 0.66m; D 0.18) was under the N end of the mound but was not sealed by it. The mound was also cut by an E-W drain, a S-N drain and a N-S drain pipe. (McManus 2010, 5-8)
See the attached plan from McManus (2010, fig. 5)
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of upload: 25 March 2022
References
Nelis, D. 2005 M3 Clonee-North of Kells; Contract 4, Navan - Kells and Kells Bypass. Report on Archaeological Assessment at Testing Area 1 in Ardbraccan, County Meath. Licence: 04E0924. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy
McManus, C. 2010 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 4, Navan to Kells and Kells Bypass. Final Report on Ardbraccan 6, Co. Meath. Licence: E003120. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy
Nearby in the register
- Ring-ditchunder 1 mi
- Ring-ditchunder 1 mi
- Ring-ditchunder 1 mi
- Churchunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.