2007:1255 - ATHLUMNEY, Meath

The site is located in the north-west corner of the IDA Navan Business & Technology Park, Dublin Road, Navan, Co. Meath, and is being developed by Quinn Projects as a substantial call centre with associated carpark for the Quinn Direct insurance company.
The site incorporates an archaeological complex, ME025–049, which consists of three souterrains, a fourth possible souterrain and several large contemporary ditches which were excavated by Carleton Jones (on behalf of Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd) in 1999 (Excavations 1999, No. 701, 98E0596). Excavation was also carried out by Melanie McQuade (Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd) in 2006 under licence 97E0322 ext. in an area directly to the east of the current site. The results from this excavation yielded evidence for multi-period settlement which was characterised by a series of cooking pits, a large subrectangular ditched enclosure, the remains of three structures, a circular enclosure and several other pits and linear ditch features. Dating evidence indicates that there were four phases of occupation on the site dating to the Final Neolithic/Early Bronze Age, Bronze Age and early medieval periods (McQuade 2006).
In association with the current development testing was carried out by Eoin Sullivan (Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd) under licence 97E0322 (reactivated) which identified a substantial amount of archaeology within the proposed area of development (Sullivan 2006).
The results of the testing programme initiated a mitigation strategy whereby the development was redesigned to facilitate preservation in situ of the underlying archaeology. This was accomplished by relocating the building away from its proposed location (the call centre was originally designed to be located at the south-western side of the site where the remains of the four souterrains are located) closer to the Athlumney road, to the north-west of the souterrain complex, in an area void of archaeological remains (a disused sand quarry). The proposed carpark was also redesigned; the finished level of the carpark was raised, creating a buffer zone or protective layer between the carpark and the archaeology beneath.
The programme of preservation in situ was carried out from 10 October to 14 December 2007. Monitoring of the removal of topsoil uncovered an extensive multi-phased complex site which was recorded prior to the construction of the protective buffer zone.
In general the site can be dated to the Early Christian period but there is also evidence of residual prehistoric activity. The archaeological site presents as a multivallate enclosure with associated field systems, additional rectangular ditched enclosures and a souterrain complex. The centre of the multivallate enclosure was later reused as an Early Christian graveyard.
The multivallate enclosure is located centrally within the development site. The most central enclosure (c. 30m in diameter by 3.3m wide by 1.75m deep) is situated on a plateau of high ground on the site. The inner area is characterised by a multitude of intercutting domestic and habitation activity which has been heavily truncated by the later reuse of the enclosure as an Early Christian graveyard. The burials in turn have been truncated by agricultural features which were present throughout the entire site. The secondary enclosure (50m in diameter by 3.4m wide by 1.25m deep) and tertiary enclosure (70m in diameter by 5.7m wide by 1.3m deep) are positioned around the inner enclosure in an elliptical fashion, with a number of radial link ditches connecting the inner ditches to the outer ditch. The area between the inner and secondary enclosure is characterised by domestic activity (pits, ditches, kilns and hearths). Domestic activity was also evident in the space between the second and third enclosures.
To the east of the enclosure, a series of intercutting rectangular ditched enclosures were identified, which provisionally tie in with the results of McQuade’s 2006 excavation. To the south-west of the multivallate enclosure a plethora of intercutting domestic and habitation features were evident (pits, ditches, post-holes and slot-trenches) leading towards the souterrain complex. The souterrain complex lay in an area heavily disturbed by quarrying activity which resulted in the truncation of features in proximity to the quarry edge.
The habitation features within the inner enclosure, between the enclosing ditches and the souterrain complex, indicate that the multivallate enclosure functioned primarily in a domestic capacity. The rectangular ditch enclosures to the east point to a series of earlier and later activity having taken place. The enclosure has also been reused as an Early Christian burial-ground with the remains of eighteen east–west inhumation burials identified within the inner enclosure/inner enclosing ditch. A number of individuals have been buried in stone-lined lintel graves within the inner enclosure itself, with seven individuals buried within the inner enclosure ditch.
On the basis of the recovery of the ring from a ringed pin (Fanning 1994), a bone comb, and a bone pin from within the inner enclosure area, it can be concluded that the site was active in the 9th/10th century ad (although both earlier and later activity was evident).
References
Fanning, T. 1994 Viking Age ringed pins from Dublin. Dublin.
Jones, C. 1999 Archaeological Excavations of Souterrains (SMR ref. MH025–049) and associated features at the IDA Business Park, Athlumney, Navan (Licence 98E0596). Unpublished report for Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Sullivan, E. 2006 Archaeological Test Excavation, Quinn Direct Call Centre, Athlumney Business Park, Navan, Co. Meath (Licence 97E0322 reactivated). Unpublished report for Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
McQuade, M. 2006 Archaeological Monitoring and Excavation, Athlumney, Co. Meath. Unpublished report for Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.