County: Meath Site name: HANLONSTOWN (Testing Area 6)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0579
Author: Aidan O'Connell, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: Pit
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 684832m, N 764719m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.625412, -6.717560
An assessment was carried out in advance of the planned M3 Clonee–North of Kells PPP scheme, Co. Meath, on the Navan bypass section (Contract 3). This section of the scheme is c. 8.5km long from the townland of Kennastown, south of Navan, to the townland of Ardbraccan, north-west of Navan. 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 2m-wide 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 6 was located in the townland of Hanlonstown between Chainage 44600 and 45700. Within this area, 8451m2 of the total 60,680m2 available was test-trenched, providing an assessment coverage of 14%. One archaeological site was identified (Hanlonstown 1), which consisted of a single pit with a diameter of 0.7m. This feature was filled with a loose black/dark-brown clay with some small stones. No other features of archaeological significance were identified.
Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth
