County: Meath Site name: CLONCOWAN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E0833
Author: Christine Baker, for Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Fulacht fia
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 675227m, N 748870m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.484474, -6.866541
Excavation was carried out at Cloncowan, Rathmoylan, Co. Meath, as part of the Bord Gáis Éireann Pipeline to the West project (Section 1A: Ballough to Kinnegad). The site was revealed as an extensive deposit of fulacht-type material during the wayleave monitoring programme by Redmond Tobin (licence 02E0194). A total of 42 features were recorded in an area measuring 10m north–south by 44m, which were excavated by hand from 15 to 24 June 2002.
The site is below the crest of a hill, at the point where marshy pasture becomes bog. The mound material (3.5m by 3.5m) had a maximum depth of 0.3m and was downslope, c. 2m north-east, of the trough but was truncated by the limit of the wayleave. The trough was oval, oriented north-west/south-east and cut into natural subsoil. It measured 1.7m by 1.7m, was 0.74m deep and contained twelve distinct fills. A total of 23 stake-holes (0.03m in average diameter ) were cut into the base of the trough. Associated with the trough, 0.5m to the south-west of it, was a small pit that was irregular in plan (1.2m by 0.8m by 0.16m deep) and contained black sandy silt with a high charcoal content. There was no evidence of in situ burning. To the north-east of the trough were a further eight stake-holes and two shallow pits. The pits measured 0.38m by 0.3m by 0.12m deep and 0.44m by 0.33m by 0.28m deep. No artefacts were recovered.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
