2025:755 - Moneymore, Yellowbatter, Greenbatter, Louth

Archaeological testing was carried out at the site of a proposed pump station associated with the North Drogheda Strategic Waste Water Network Route, in Moneymore, Co. Louth.  Archaeological activity was identified in Trench 4 and interpreted as a burnt mound/spread. A revised method statement was approved for an excavation of the archaeology identified. On removal of the topsoil in the area, eleven pits (C3, C6, C19, C10, C14, C16, C18, C20, C22, C24 and C29) were identified. These pits contained burnt stone and charcoal and are likely associated with burnt mound/fulacht fiadh activity. The pits were likely used as fire pits or hearths where the stones were heated prior to rolling into a water-filled trough. The trough was not recorded within the site; it simply may not have survived, or it could be just outside the limit of the proposed development. The features identified during stripping were fully excavated and preserved by record. A sample from pit C3 was submitted for dating, which returned an Early Bronze Age radiocarbon determination of 1870 -1850 cal BC. (ICA 10136, 3400+/-30BP).

No further archaeological activity was identified during monitoring of the ground works for the rest of the North Drogheda Strategic Waste Water Network Route.