County: Wicklow Site name: MOUNT USHER (Monitoring Site 27)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E1434
Author: Ciara MacManus, ADS Ltd.
Site type: Ring-ditch
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 727733m, N 697136m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.009678, -6.096567
Monitoring of topsoil-stripping along the proposed route of the N11 Newtownmountkennedy– Ballynabarny Road Scheme in County Wicklow uncovered a new archaeological site in the townland of Mount Usher, c. 0.5km east of the existing N11 and Ashford village, on a long ridge of gravel terraces overlooking the Vartry River to the south. Site clearance had uncovered a series of charcoal-rich pits and post-holes, along with what appeared to be the remains of probable cremation burials, scattered over an area measuring c. 25m by 20m.
In addition to the numerous features already partially uncovered during topsoil-stripping, four urn burials and a large circular enclosing ditch were revealed. The full extent of the site was exposed, proving it to be a large burial site consisting of a ring-ditch, c. 17m in diameter, enclosing a further, circular, post-hole structure and three urn burials. A fourth urn burial had been placed just outside the south-west edge of the ring-ditch.
The surrounding ditch was circular, with an internal diameter of 14.5m and an external diameter of 18.8m, and was c. 4m wide all round. The ditch ranged from 0.7m to 0.4m deep, where it had been badly truncated, and was regularly V-shaped in section, with the outer edge more gently sloped than the inner edge. It was cut into the subsoil, and the fill appeared to be the result of natural silting, with the lower levels consisting of a coarse sandy gravel and the upper levels comprising a fine silty sand that contained heavier charcoal flecking.
Numerous pits and post-holes were uncovered, mainly concentrated in the south-west part of the ring-ditch, extending toward the north and north-east, leaving the east and south-east of the internal area apparently devoid of archaeological remains. These features at first glance appeared to be randomly scattered across the internal area of the ring-ditch; however, closer examination of their placement and relationship with each other suggested that they represent the remains of at least one structure.
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