County: Kildare Site name: KILMEAGE
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 95E0259
Author: Rosanne Meenan
Site type: Burial
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 677534m, N 723528m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.256444, -6.838012
Pre-development testing was previously carried out here in November 1999 (Excavations 1999, No. 398, 99E0625). Construction commenced in 2001. Monitoring was carried out intermittently between May 2001 and April 2002 as the site is near a church. The first phase of monitoring was carried out in May 2001 over a period of seven days while topsoil was removed from the whole of the area to be developed. The topsoil was stockpiled nearby. Gravel was removed from the site to nearby building sites.
The topsoil varied in depth over the site. The nature of the subsoil also varied considerably, from very fine sand to coarse gravel; fine clays were also present.
Two areas of burning were exposed. One measured 1.1m by 1.3m by 80mm deep. It comprised a layer of charcoal over a layer of red ash. It lay at the interface of topsoil with fine brown sand. The feature was cleaned back but there was nothing else of interest and there were no finds to assist identification or dating.
The other feature measured 1.5m by 0.6m by 0.17m deep. This comprised assorted lenses of charcoal and ash. It was deepest at the south end and tapered out as it ran northwards. This feature was cleaned back but no other information could be derived.
A shallow ditch ran across the south of the site. This was 1m wide and 0.3m deep. It was filled with a slightly darker material than the surrounding yellow gravel. The feature was interpreted as the remains of a field fence.
During topsoil clearance for an access road in July 2001 the remains of a single skeleton were exposed. Work ceased on the site at this stage owing to other planning considerations, and did not resume until April 2002. A report of the work will be published in Excavations 2002.
Roestown, Drumree, Co. Meath
