County: Westmeath Site name: WHITEWELL (BGE 1/63/1)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E0954
Author: Sinéad Phelan, Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: House - prehistoric
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 644649m, N 744217m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.446144, -7.327881
This report provides the preliminary results of an excavation of Section 1B (Athlone–Ballough) of the Bord Gáis Éireann Pipeline to the West. The site was on low-lying, well-drained pastureland in the townland of Whitewell at RDX 63.
The features were uncovered during topsoil-stripping by Bernice Molloy (No. 1826, Excavations 2002, 02E0262). The construction of the pipeline involved the removal of the topsoil across a 20m-wide corridor, which revealed a series of previously unrecorded archaeological deposits.
An area measuring 12m north–south by 10m had been identified as containing a double row of circular post-holes, with a large, east–west-oriented, linear feature truncating the northern end of the structure. A total of 26 features were identified across the site, which was circular, with a later ditch feature cutting through it east–west.
A prehistoric structure with definite dating material (pottery sherds, a flint round scraper and the tip of the stone axe, all found in sealed contexts directly relating to the structure) was uncovered. The high frequency of charcoal in the post-holes/roof supports suggests that there was some form of burning during the dismantling of the house. The lack of evidence of in situ burning indicates that the structure was not completely destroyed by fire.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
