County: Meath Site name: FOURKNOCKS
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: H.A. King
Site type: Habitation site
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 711227m, N 762120m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.597122, -6.319644
This excavation took place in the Autumn on the Fourknocks ridge to the north of Naul village. The site lies just below the crest of the ridge above the 500ft contour with extensive views on all sides. It was done prior to the construction of a Radio Link Repeater station by Posts and Telegraphs who funded the excavation. It is worth noting that the excavation was confined to an area equivalent to the size of the buildings which were to be constructed but subsequently the area was extensively landscaped, an exercise which undoubtedly destroyed archaeological deposits.
There were no visible features on the site prior to investigation but a phosphate survey recorded clusters of strong and good levels of phosphate in the soil and trial trenching revealed a number of pits, charcoal spreads and stone settings together with cremated bone and a range of struck anti worked flints.
The main investigation produced evidence for occupation on the ridge in the form of a series of postholes which appeared to define a compacted ‘floor’ area, pits containing undecorated coarse flat-bottomed pottery, small quantities of cremated bone and substantial amounts of charcoal. Radio carbon dates, kindly supplied by Jan Lanting of Groningen, were as follows; 41100±40 BP. 4250±40 BP 4305±45 BP. A fourth date for a spread of charcoal on the lower end of the site was 2275±30 BP. Finds included part of an archer’s wrist guard, a tanged flint arrow-head and a large number of worked flints. The site appears to represent occupation in the Early Bronze Age.
