1992:152 - MACETOWN, Meath

During the digging of an ornamental pond in the garden of Macetown Mill, a number of human bones including part of a skull were uncovered. The National Museum was informed and a short excavation was carried out from 20th to 26th August 1992. The site is located at the north end of a gravelly ridge which is flanked on the east side by a small stream. Lazy bedding is clearly visible on the mound. One complete extended inhumation, interred on a cobbled surface, was exposed and recorded. The burial was outlined by a ring of stones of various sizes. A flat 'pillow' stone was positioned where the head would originally have rested. The skull was found to have fallen forward and was positioned over the base of the spinal column at the time of excavation, possibly due to pressure of space within the burial caused by the proximity of the outlining stones. Portion of a 2nd burial was uncovered adjacent to the 1st but this was not investigated fully as no further disturbance of the immediate area was anticipated. A scatter of bones was also found through the layers above the burial. This may have been due to disturbance caused by the lazy bedding. In all, a total of 5 individuals are represented. Three of these are adults and 2 are children. There were no small finds.In the absence of accompaniments, it is not possible to date the burials in advance of carbon 14 dating. However, the general mode of burial would be in keeping with a date in the early to mid first millennium AD. An initial examination of the complete skeleton suggests that the remains of an older female who may have been subjected to heavy labour. She had suffered a fracture of the lower spine and showed signs of degenerative arthritis of the joints. (Anatomical information supplied by Barra Ó Donnabháin and information on 1st millennium AD burial from Betty O'Brien.)