2006:1509 - Bennetstown 3, Meath

The site was identified during testing along the route of the M3 Clonee to north of Kells motorway. Excavation was conducted between 20 February and 20 March 2006. The site was located near the top of a small hill and two distinct groups of archaeological features were uncovered.
To the east a series of very substantial post-holes were located. These averaged 0.3m in diameter and 0.3m depth. The majority had vertical sides and flat bases. Most had been deliberately removed from the ground prior to their cuts filling. In some instances there was evidence that the posts had been driven into the ground. In addition to charcoal flecks, fragments of animal bone and mollusc shell were also found within some of the fills. They appeared to form an east–west-oriented semicircular structure with maximum internal dimensions of 2.6m by 4.3m.
Two pits lay external to the post-hole setting. Both were relatively small and had U-shaped profiles. Neither contained any evidence of their original function. Two, possibly associated, stake-holes lay just over 1m to the east. These had V-shaped points at the base and both were deliberately removed from the ground. Two patches of in situ burnt clay lay almost 2m apart in the north-eastern part of the site, c. 11m from the post-hole setting. These may have originally been coterminous and represented one large hearth. A large post-hole lay 0.4m west of this.
A series of pits and post-holes were situated along a roughly east–west-oriented line in the northern part of the site and spanned a distance of 14m. The function of these features and their possible associations with one another is indeterminate. Dark charcoal-rich fills and burnt-bone inclusions were found within one pit and the remnants of a possible slot-trench was uncovered close by.
There were two post-medieval drainage ditches on the site, and a modern sheep burial in the eastern part of the site partially truncated one post-hole.