Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Barrow - ditch barrow
Rath (ratoath By., Cookstown Par.), County Meath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Rath (ratoath By., Cookstown Par.)
- County
- Meath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 53.52536, -6.41817
- SMR number
- ME039-012----
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 towards the bottom of a SW-facing slope with a canalised W-E stream c. 60m to the S. Archaeological excavation (03E1214) by H. Schweitzer between March and October 2004 in advance of the northern section of the N2 by-pass around Ashbourne on site 27 involved the complete excavation of six areas numbered from the S. Features recorded in Area 2 included a kiln (ME039-012001-) but the principal feature is this ditch-barrow. (Schweitzer 2009, 14)
This is a subcircular area (int. dims 3.4-3.9m; ext. dims 4.8-5.1m) defined by a U-shaped ditch (Wth of top 0.5-0.65m; average D 0.5m) with two principal deposits. The primary silt layer had a seam of charcoal which contained fragments of faience beads (O’Carroll et al. 2012, 228-32), and samples of the charcoal produced C14 dates of 900-825 Cal. BC and 740-360 Cal. BC. The former date, from a piece of oak, could represent ‘old wood’, and the latter date is a more realistic determination. One flint flake was recovered from the upper fill. There is no evidence of a mound or outer bank, or even of a burial. (Schweitzer 2009, 37-8)
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of upload: 3 March 2021
O'Carroll, F., Sheridan, A. and K. Eremin 2012 Rath, Co. Meath: of beads and burials. in Corlett, C. and Potterton, M. (eds) Life and Death in in Iron Age Ireland in the light of recent archaeological discoveries, 223-32, Dublin, Wordwell
References
Schweitzer, H. 2009 N2 Finglas-Ashbourne Road Scheme. Report on Archaeological Excavation of Site 27. Rath, County Meth. Licence No. 03E1214. Unpublished report, CRDS
Nearby in the register
- Structureunder 1 mi
- Structureunder 1 mi
- Field systemunder 1 mi
- Kilnunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.