County: Meath Site name: STAMULLIN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 05E0962
Author: Cliodhna Ní Lionain, Arch-Tech Ltd.
Site type: Enclosure
Period/Dating: Prehistoric (12700 BC-AD 400)
ITM: E 714857m, N 765609m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.627681, -6.263542
Monitoring was undertaken at Stamullin, Co. Meath, in advance of the construction of a hotel and access road adjacent to the Julianstown interchange off the M1. Four isolated features and four areas of concentrated archaeological activity were identified. Most of the features were located in the northern part of the field, a north–south-oriented ridge being a particular focus for archaeological activity. The isolated features were resolved under the monitoring licence, while Areas 1–4 were cleaned, planned and subjected to preliminary investigation.
In the northern part of the field three pits and a small stake-hole were identified and excavated under the monitoring licence. They were all isolated features of undetermined function and date. The lack of diagnostic artefacts from these features makes it impossible to assign them to a uniform archaeological horizon.
Two substantial curvilinear ditches were identified in Area 1. They represent a large enclosure consisting of an inner and outer ditch, the line of the latter following the upper contour of the ridge. The outer enclosure has an internal diameter of 55m (north–south) by 48m. Two sections were excavated in the outer ditch and one in the inner. Both ditches were blunted V-shape in profile, the outer ditch being the more substantial of the two. No diagnostic finds were retrieved from the ditch sections. A number of internal and external features were also found in Area 1, some of which contained fire-effected material.
Area 2 is situated to the south-east of Area 1 and may belong to the same horizon of archaeological activity. A pit containing fire-affected material and a larger, slightly curvilinear feature to the west of it were identified during cleaning. A number of possible post-holes were also identified.
Area 3 is located north-east of Area 2. It contains a linear feature, a possible post-hole and three possible stake-holes.
Area 4 is located at the southern end of the field and originally would have overlooked the Delvin River. It contains at least thirteen features, two of which were excavated. A linear feature (3.8m long, 0.78m wide, 0.4m deep) containing fire-affected material and a cremation pit were fully excavated under the monitoring licence. The cremation pit was subrectangular, measuring 0.63m by 0.35m by 0.15m deep, and contained two fills. The main fill was a black silty clay that contained much burnt and unburnt bone and three sherds of well-made prehistoric pottery, probably dating to the Late Bronze Age. The upper fill was a mid-brown silty clay. Upon initial analysis of the pottery it is thought that the sherds represent at least two different vessels.
It is suggested that the archaeology identified in Stamullin can be assigned to the later prehistoric/early historic period.
Areas 1–4 are currently being resolved under licence 05E1271 (see No. 1247, Excavations 2005).
32 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2
