County: Meath Site name: PHOENIXTOWN (Testing Area 4)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0923
Author: Sian Keith, for Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd.
Site type: Habitation site, Kiln and Pit
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 678752m, N 771509m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.687362, -6.807740
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.
This testing area is located in the townland of Phoenixtown, between Chainages 63700 and 64300; 4778m2 of the total 28,894m2 within this area was test-trenched, providing a testing coverage of 16.5%.
Three areas of archaeological potential were identified, designated Phoenixtown 2, 3 and 4. Phoenixtown 2, a metalled/cobbled road, runs east-west and cuts through the centre-line at Chainage 63755. This feature is accompanied by parallel drainage ditches to the north and south of the road. A shallow linear ditch orientated northeast/south-west in Trench 1 also contained medieval pottery.
Phoenixtown 3 consisted of four clusters of features. A curvilinear feature uncovered in Trench 13 was thought to be part of a slot-trench related to occupation activity. A hearth, associated post-holes and a pit were located in Trench 15 c. 40m northwest of the above slot-trench. A subrectangular pit and two post-holes were uncovered in Trench 17. An oval pit and a curvilinear feature were uncovered in Trench G8.
Phoenixtown 4 consisted of a brick-built and stone-flagged hearth/kiln. The area to the west consisted of apparent rake-out from the interior of this feature. The structure had a single course of bricks intact, with a small amount of charcoal-rich fill located above the flagstone base. Located c. 20m to the west of this feature, in Trench G12, was a small oval pit.
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