County: Westmeath Site name: GRANGE (BGE 1B/88/1–2)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E0465
Author: Bernice Molloy, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Cremation pit
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 634056m, N 760102m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.589679, -7.485601
This site was on undulating, low-lying pastureland on a slight south-facing slope with good drainage. The pipeline passed through a tract of bog to the east. Grange A and B, given their close proximity, are likely to be associated. Both sites, however, appeared to have been considerably truncated by ploughing, as most of the features were very shallow.
Grange A had a large cremation pit with an internal capstone. The cremated bone appeared to have been partially crushed, and some of the deposit was very powdery. A large pit with in situ burning at the base lay to the south-west of the large cremation pit; it also had a deposit of charcoal and burnt bone at the base. This may be material from a pyre, which may also explain the in situ burning at the base of the pit. Three other shallow pits also contained tiny flecks of cremated bone.
Grange B had four cremation pits clustered close together. A small pit contained a high concentration of cremated bone. The fragments of cremated bone did not appear to be crushed, and fragments of skull and rib bones were clearly visible. However, it is unlikely that this pit held the cremation of a complete individual. Three other pits contained a small amount of cremated bone. It appears that only partial or token deposition of cremated bone took place.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
