County: Meath Site name: NAVAN MOAT (VICINITY OF), Moathill
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 25:23 Licence number: 97E0101
Author: Thaddeus C. Breen, for Valerie J. Keeley Ltd.
Site type: Burial
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 685912m, N 767669m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.651733, -6.700427
An archaeological investigation was carried out along the route of the proposed Inner Relief Road in Navan, where it passed within 70m of the motte known as Navan Moat. Six cuttings, A–F, were excavated along the route. They were 1.5m wide and varied in length from 15m to 30m. In cuttings A, E and F nothing of archaeological relevance was found. In the remaining three cuttings traces of cultivation ridges were found.
Human skeletal remains were found in two cuttings: a skull fragment and tooth in Cutting C, and more substantial remains in Cutting D. The latter were situated at approximately the highest point on a small hillock. The remains of two human skeletons were found, representing a male aged 18–23 and a female aged 31–45. Muscular development and wear on the vertebrae showed the latter to have been accustomed to constant bending and lifting. The skeletons had been disturbed by later agricultural activities, but they appear to have been crouched inhumations, oriented east–west, with the head towards the left. There were no definite grave-goods, but two nondescript pieces of quartz and iron were found.
The cutting was widened, but no other burials were found.
13 Wainsfort Crescent, Dublin 6W
