Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Excavation - miscellaneous
Gunnocks, County Meath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Gunnocks
- County
- Meath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 53.42520, -6.44048
- SMR number
- ME051-028----
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
Located on a fairly level landscape. A gradiometer survey (17R0229) by Target Archaeological Geophysics of an extensive development area of c. 75 ha in the townlands of Loughsallagh, Portan, and Gunnocks, identified numerous anomalies of potential archaeological interest. Targeted archaeological testing (18E0013) by T. Coughlin in 2018 and M. Piera (19E0211) in 2019 was able to demonstrate that many of these were of fairly modern agricultural origin. However, sixteen locations were set aside for further investigation, which was undertaken by J. Whitaker under the licence (18E0013) between the beginning of April and the end of July 2019, and all but four of these proved to be of archaeological interest.
A N-S drainage ditch (L 90m plus; max. Wth of top 1.5-2m; D 0.2-0.3m) was filled with three main layers of silty clays, the upper two of which had inclusions of sea shell, and sherds of medieval pottery were found throughout. About 5m W of the boundary ditch a smaller gully (Wth 0.4-0.6m; D 0.15m) was parallel with it (L 8.24m). Three small pits (dims 0.5m x 0.3m; D 0.0.6m to 1.2m x 1.2m; D 0.3m) with some burnt stone in the silty clay fills were also in the vicinity but produced no artefacts. However, medieval pottery sherds were recovered from a small metalled surface (dims 1.95m x 0.84m) that included burnt stone and the underlying layer of yellow-grey sandy clay (dims 5.8m x 5.2m; T 0.05m). (Whitaker 2020, 39-41, Site 15)
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of upload: 5 November 2021
References
Piera, M. 2019 Final Report on Archaeological Assessment at CLN 5/6 Clonee, Loughsallagh, Portan & Gunnocks, Co. Meath. Licence: 19E0211. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy
Whitaker, J. 2020 Preliminary Report on Archaeological Excavations at CLN 5/6 Clonee, Loughsallagh, Portan and Gunnocks, County Meath. Licence: 18E0013. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy
Coughlan, T. 2018 Archaeological Assessment at Clonee Phase 2, Loughsallagh, Portan & Gunnocks, Co. Meath. Licence: 18E0013. Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy
Nearby in the register
- Excavation - miscellaneousunder 1 mi
- Pitunder 1 mi
- Wellunder 1 mi
- Charcoal-making siteunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.