County: Meath Site name: NEWRATH LITTLE/TOWNPARKS (Testing Area 13)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0914
Author: Shane Delaney, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.
Site type: Burnt mound and Pit
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 672993m, N 774771m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.717509, -6.894137
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 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 13 is located in the townlands of Newrath Little and Townparks (Chainages 0–1800) and 10,473m2 of the total 81,045m2 within this area was test-trenched, providing a testing coverage of 12.9%.
Three areas of archaeological potential, designated Newrath Little 1–3, were identified during the testing programme. Newrath Little 1 consisted of a number of pits with charcoal-rich fills. Newrath Little 2 was a large pit filled with heat-shattered stone and a charcoal-rich silt. Newrath Little 3 was a truncated burnt mound with evidence for a probable trough/pit.
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