2006:1507 - BENNETSTOWN 1, Meath

The site was identified as that of a burnt spread during testing along the route of the M3 Clonee to north of Kells motorway. Excavation was conducted at the site between 24 January and 17 February 2006. The site was located in a waterlogged field west of the Tolka River and partially within its flood-plain. Events within the excavation area can be divided into five main phases.
The first phase was represented by a burnt spread or fulacht fiadh and related activity. A roughly horseshoe-shaped burnt spread lay at the western edge of the flood-plain opening out towards the water. Roughly concentric settings of post-holes underlay this, suggesting the horseshoe shape may have been formed by two concentric enclosures, the space between which may have been designed to hold the material. A pit and two stake-holes lay within the central area. Additional post-holes and pits lay on higher ground to the west and south-west. In the north-west a series of small pits and post-holes were probably contemporary to the burnt spread. A definite function could not be assigned to the majority, although two clusters of stake- and post-holes may have formed a small semicircular structure opening out to the north-east. The large majority of posts and stakes were deliberately extracted from the ground, which suggested portable structures or reusable structural elements on a temporary or seasonal site. Flooding during excavation demonstrated that the site would have been difficult to occupy during the winter months.
The second phase was constituted by continual flooding by the Tolka River, which mixed the burnt-spread material with silt and washed it out across the site.
Two large industrial pits, representing the third phase, were located in the central part of the site at the western edge of the flood-plain. The first had a stepped platform within the eastern side of the cut leading to the deeper foundations of a clay superstructure. After collapse of the superstructure the pit was deliberately backfilled. It was located less than 2m from a slightly smaller pit, which lay within the flood-plain at a much lower level. This had a thick watertight lining and filled naturally with water. It is possible the two features could have functioned as a forge and slaking pit. However, no metalworking finds or waste material were found within either feature or in the surrounding area.
The fourth phase was represented by continual flooding of the Tolka, which formed a thick layer of alluvium that overlay a 2m-wide margin of the features adjacent to the waterline.
Post-medieval and later activity constituted the fifth phase. Two drainage ditches, one curvilinear and the other linear, crossed the site and cut through the Phase 4 flooding. Redeposited natural was set down over the alluvium to fill a waterlogged hollow within the field. On the higher ground in the western part of the site, ploughing appears to have removed spread material and possibly also small features. Although much of the archaeology remained relatively well preserved under the deep alluvium, a modern service trench, 9m wide, cut through the eastern side of the site and is likely to have removed associated features, including the area most likely to have contained a trough.