County: Meath Site name: ROESTOWN/COOKSLAND (Testing Area 17)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 04E0479
Author: Tara O'Neill, Archaeological Consultancy Services
Site type: Pit, Burnt spread and Field boundary
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 695881m, N 753360m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.521455, -6.554078
An assessment was carried out in advance of the planned M3 Clonee–North of Kells PPP scheme, Co. Meath, on the Clonee–Dunshaughlin section (Contract 1) between February and June 2004. This section of the scheme consists of c. 14.2km of motorway and a further c. 14km of link roads and additional side roads. 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 26 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.
A total of 76 test-trenches were excavated in Testing Area 17 within the Roestown and Cooksland townlands. Two areas of possible archaeological significance were identified within that will be impacted upon by the proposed development. These have been designated as Roestown 4 and Cooksland 3. Both sites contain a number of features containing cremated bone and the site at Cooksland 3 also produced a number of flint artefacts, suggesting that this site is prehistoric. These features include spreads, pits and linear features. Further investigation and excavation of the remains is recommended.
Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth
