Enclosure

The National Monuments Service's description

Located on the S-facing crest of a broad low hill and on the plateau to its N. An enclosure complex consisting of a rectangular enclosure with an internal square feature and attached external ditches, was identified just to the W of the route of the M3 motorway in a gradiometer survey (00R0064) by GBS Prospection (2001, 10) at Area 26, but the survey was limited to the area W of an existing NNE-SSW field boundary. The road just clipped the E edge of the rectangular enclosure which is preserved on the W side of the motorway.

The rectangular enclosure is a large area (int. dims c. 60m E-W; c. 58m N-S) defined by substantial ditches (Wth c. 3m). The internal feature (int. dims c. 15m x c. 15m) is defined by a wide ditch (Wth c. 2-3m) and the interior of the larger enclosure is divided up by slighter ditches emanating from the smaller enclosure. Further light features enclose a circular or D-shaped area to the N which might be connected with some of the ditches of the field system (ME038-071008-) in the excavated area. During archaeological testing (04E0416) for the M3 motorway J. Dempsey (2004) was able to sample the E fosse (L 37.5m; Wth 1.6m; D 1.1m) of the outer enclosure but the only artefact recovered was a sherd of green-glazed pottery the its surface (excavations.ie 2004: 1242).

See the attached images from GBS Prospection (2001, figs A57, A58)
_1 Raw data;
_2 Interpretation;

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 21 April, 2022

References

GBS Prospection 2001 N3 Navan to Dunshaughlin Road, County Meath: Geophysical Survey. Licence: 00R0064. Unpublished report, No. 2000/104. GBS Prospection

Dempsey, J. 2004 M3 Clonee – North of Kells, Contract 2 Dunshaughlin - Navan, Report on the Archaeological Assessment of Testing Area 2, Garretstown, Co. Meath. Licence: 04E0416. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Services