1994:194 - SHEEPHOUSE, Meath

Monitoring of topsoil-stripping for an extension to an Irish Cement Ltd. shale quarry took place in May. The area being developed measured 114m x 165m and was immediately north of the existing quarry in adjacent Donore townland (Excavations 1990, 47). Two fulachta fiadh were recorded and a third site was identified nearby.

Site 1
A burnt stone spread measured 19m x 13m and was 0.1m–0.23m thick. The trough was located on the upslope southern edge of the spread excavated into the soft weathered shale. At the bedrock surface, directly under topsoil, the pit was oval in shape, 2.2m x 1.45m, with a depth of 1m. The pit narrowed so that the lower half was sub-rectangular in shape 0.9m x 1.1m. There was no evidence for a lining of the trough. Preliminary analysis of a sample from the trough by Brenda Collins has identified hazelnuts and the seeds of blackberry, buttercup and perennial nettle. A flint scraper was found at the east margin of the burnt stone spread.

Site 2
This site, damaged by the passage of machinery over it, consisted of a burnt stone spread 10.5m x 6m with a maximum thickness of 0.4m. Sealed by the spread was a small pit, 0.95m x 0.7m and 0.6m deep, excavated into shale. Also covered by the levelled mound, 5.5m from the pit, was a charcoal-rich deposit c. 1m in diameter and 0.2m thick. A burnt stone found in the general spread of stones is probably the mid-section of a polished stone axe. Downslope to a maximum distance of 15m from Site 2 were seven pits dug into till, all containing tightly-packed burnt stones in a grey silty clay with charcoal. The pits were flat-bottomed with diameters of 0.9m–1.3m; maximum depth was 0.45m.

Site 3
This site, a probable fulacht fiadh, lies 90m north of Site 1 and is within the eventual limit of the quarry area. The outline of a 28m x 23m burnt stone spread was plotted by probing through the thin topsoil.

6 St Ultan's, Laytown, Drogheda, Co. Louth