County: Monaghan Site name: MONALTYDUFF (1, Site 103)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 03E1298
Author: Tim Coughlan, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.
Site type: Pit
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 688032m, N 802361m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.963051, -6.658457
An excavation, funded by Monaghan County Council and the National Roads Authority, was completed in Monaltyduff, c. 1.5km to the south-east of Carrickmacross, in advance of the construction of the N2 Carrickmacross-Aclint Road Realignment. The site was identified during a testing exercise undertaken by Tim Coughlan in March–April 2003 (No. 1482, Excavations 2003, 03E0388).
The site was stripped of topsoil using a machine fitted with a toothless bucket. An area was opened around the feature identified during testing. This consisted of a single shallow pit, 2.2m in diameter with a maximum depth of 0.4m. The fill consisted of a charcoal-rich, grey, silty clay. The function of the pit is not clear and there were no other archaeological features in the area. There were no finds or datable samples from the site, so it is not known with what period it is associated. It was originally suggested that the pit may have been a charcoal clamp, but the lack of evidence of burning in situ indicates that it may just have been a dump of charcoal-rich material.
8 Dungar Terrace, Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
