County: Meath Site name: ROESTOWN 1, ROESTOWN
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A008/001
Author: Lydia Cagney, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd, 21 Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda.
Site type: Burnt mound
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 695832m, N 754163m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.528676, -6.554571
Excavation of Roestown 1, situated on a section of the planned M3 Clonee to North of Kells motorway scheme, Co. Meath, was undertaken on behalf of Meath County Council and the National Roads Authority. This site was one of the areas identified by Jonathan Dempsey during the testing programme of the Contract 2 (Dunshaughlin to Navan) stretch of motorway between April and May 2004 (Excavations 2004, No. 1336, 04E0415). The excavation was carried out in November 2005.
A spread of burnt-mound material 7m north–south by 6.2m was exposed and excavated. Two troughs and one large circular pit, possibly representing the remains of a water source, were uncovered beneath this spread. A number of stake-holes were also present to the north of these features, although these did not form any coherent pattern. Numerous north-east/south-west-aligned ploughmarks were visible across the northern part of the site. These truncated the burnt-mound material and were therefore considered to have post-dated this activity on the site. Thirty-five lithic artefacts were retrieved during the excavation; these included a flint concave-based arrowhead, a flint convex scraper, a possible knapping stone and a stone bead.
