County: Meath Site name: DERVER (Testing Area 9)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E1060
Author: Dave Bayley, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.
Site type: Pit
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 666171m, N 780350m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.768544, -6.996272
An assessment was carried out in advance of the planned M3 Clonee–North of Kells PPP scheme, Co. Meath, on the Navan–Kells and N52 Kells bypass (Contract 4) between July and October 2004. This section of the scheme is c. 11km long from the townland of Ardbraccan, north of Navan, to the townland of Cakestown Glebe, north of Kells. The EIS recommended testing any known or possible sites identified and Meath County Council further proposed to test the whole of the remainder of the route. For the purposes of testing, this section was divided into fourteen testing areas. The assessment methodology generally consisted of mechanically excavating 2mwide test-trenches along the centre-line and perpendicular to the centre-line to the edge of the land-take every 20m. The work was carried out on behalf of Meath County Council, the National Roads Design Office and the National Roads Authority.
Testing Area 9 is located in the townland of Derver between Chainages 88300 and 90000, and 14,412m2 of the total 150,242m2 within this area was trenched, providing a testing coverage of 9.59%.
This testing programme uncovered six areas of archaeological potential. Derver 1 consisted of two shallow pits from which animal bone was recovered. Derver 2 comprised a shallow pit filled with a charcoal-enriched silty clay fill. Derver 3 comprised an oval pit that was filled with a charcoal-enriched clay fill. Derver 4 consisted of a rectangular pit filled with heat-affected stone, similar to material recovered from burnt mounds/spreads. A shallow pit filled with charcoal-rich sandy silt was uncovered 12m west of the rectangular pit. Four additional pits were also found in close proximity, including three filled with greyish-brown sandy silt and one filled with heat-affected stone similar to that found in burnt mounds/spreads.
Derver 5 consisted of an oblong pit filled with heat-affected stone similar to that found in burnt mounds/spreads. Derver 6 comprised a shallow circular pit filled with some heat-affected stone and charcoal-rich clay.
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