2006:1534 - Clowanstown 2, Meath

This site was located within Contract 2 (Dunshaughlin to Navan) of the proposed M3 Clonee to north of Kells motorway and was identified during advance testing by Jonathan Dempsey between March and April 2004 (04E0418). Full resolution of three trenches occurred between August and September 2006.
Trench 1 revealed a c. 4.5m by 3m burnt-stone spread, which infilled a tree bole and was located beside a sub-oval concave pit (1.95m by 0.81m by 0.31m).
Trench 2 revealed a number of root or small tree boles, one of which had been recut to form a shallow bowl-shaped hearth c. 1.7m in diameter and 0.19m depth. A small quantity of flint and chert debitage was found in the base of one of the small tree boles 4m to the east, while a c. 8m by 4m burnt-stone and charcoal spread filled this and other neighbouring tree boles. Approximately 3.5m south and upslope of the hearth, a drainage gully ran to just beyond the hearth, defining its associated area of activity on this side and possibly providing water for the site, although no trough was recognised. A chert hollow-based arrowhead was located 2m further south, suggesting a relatively little used Neolithic hunters’ camp, where meat was perhaps roasted on or within hot rocks and where tools were mended. Positioned at the south edge of an extensive area of marsh and open water, it is likely that this scrub provided a perfect hunting ground for watering animals and waterfowl. The scale of the burnt stone perhaps suggests that excess meat was cooked or smoked on site to preserve it for future consumption at a more permanent site. The tree boles may be indicative of deliberate clearance to provide fuel and possibly for later agricultural practice.
Two phases of burnt-mound activity were recorded in Trench 3 consisting of a sub-oval trough (2.3m by 1.2m by 0.41m) filled with burnt stone, a shallow, bowl-shaped pit (1.2m diameter) and an adjacent post-hole. A 12m by 8m crescent-shaped burnt-stone mound had been deposited uphill and surrounding these features. Three circular pits positioned on the other side of the mound measured 0.6–1.65m in diameter by 0.12–0.33m depth and had vertical sides. Downslope, a small irregular trough with a small burnt-stone spread was observed.
A number of root boles were recorded in the vicinity and excavation of these produced two flint concave scrapers and debitage, thus suggesting that the scrub had been deliberately cleared, possibly to provide fuel for the heating of stones, which probably occurred in the vicinity of the abovementioned mound some time in the later Neolithic or Bronze Age. Limited debitage appears to indicate tool repair or replacement, while the scrapers may have been used to make arrow shafts for hunting or to strip meat from bones when butchering.
The scale of burnt-stone debris may suggest food processing to provide an excess, while the presence of the post-hole indicates a possible tent-like structure, which may have doubled as a sweat lodge for personal hygiene, given the proximity of the burnt-stone-filled pit.