County: Louth Site name: NEWTOWNDARVER
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 06E0424
Author: Eoin Corcoran, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.
Site type: Burnt mound and Burnt spread
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 701754m, N 797803m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.919591, -6.450941
These sites were discovered during monitoring of topsoil-stripping along the route of the proposed south–north gas pipeline to be constructed by Bord Gáis Éireann. The sites were located in Fields 2 and 3 at Road Crossing 35 in the townland of Newtowndarver, south-west of Dundalk. Excavations took place on 22–29 May 2006. Two areas of dark soil and heat-shattered stone were identified, Site I and Site II; both were excavated under the same licence.
Site I was on the west side of the second field, north of the road crossing. It consisted of an area of dark burnt soils and heat-shattered stone measuring 6m east–west by 2.65m. Excavations revealed that this site was the remains of a truncated burnt mound with a subsoil-cut trough beneath the mound. The trough was truncated by a modern field drain on its south side. It was sub-oval in plan, measured 2.5m north–south by 1.5m and was a maximum of 1m deep. No finds came from the fill of the trough or the mound material; radiocarbon analysis may establish a date for its use.
Site II was located north of Site I along the east side of the route corridor. It consisted of a large but thin spread of burnt dark soil and some heat-shattered stone. It measured 15m north–south by 9m and was 0.35m deep. Upon excavation, no trough was located; this feature may be a result of agricultural activity rather than evidence of a burnt mound. Radiocarbon dating will establish whether this site is prehistoric or modern.
Windsor House, 11 Fairview Strand, Fairview, Dublin 3
