County: Meath Site name: KILSHARVAN 12, Kilsharvan
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 01E0187
Author: Ian Russell, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: Pit
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
ITM: E 670002m, N 810286m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.673397, -6.350355
The site was exposed at chainage 19546, in the centre of the proposed motorway in the townland of Kilsharvan, during monitoring of topsoil-stripping carried out during groundworks associated with the construction of Contract 7 of the Northern Motorway Project. The site was identified as a small burnt spread cut by a modern drain.
A modern field drain and a single clay and charcoal deposit were exposed on site. The field drain ran north-west/south-east across the site and measured 0.29m in width. It cut a natural oval area of dark brown soil which was the result of natural decay and was clearly the feature identified during monitoring. The clay and charcoal deposit was exposed 0.9m to the south of the modern field drain and consisted of an oval deposit measuring 0.4m in length, 0.25m in width and 20mm in thickness. The feature may have been a small hearth or burnt deposit and is likely to be associated with the pits exposed on the nearby site at Kilsharvan 13 (No. 998, Excavations 2001, 01E0188) and Kilsharvan 15 (No. 1000, Excavations 2001, 01E0190), which were dated to the early Bronze Age. No further archaeological features or deposits were exposed to suggest that it was part of a larger site.
15 Trinity Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth
