2007:1257 - Site 17, Balfeagan, Meath

Pre-development testing and excavation at Site 17 on the Summerhill–Kilcock road realignment R158 revealed a series of significant archaeological features. The most significant features exposed were three pits containing burnt material, two of which showed evidence for burning in situ. The largest of these cut features measured over 4m in maximum diameter and contained slag within its fills, suggesting it may have been created to function as a furnace or as an ancillary feature, with smelting or metalworking taking place in the immediate vicinity. The later features consisted of four parallel linear ditches which appear to date from a single phase and a grouping of four stake-holes. A number of other features identified within the cutting were of limited archaeological significance: a modern stone-lined field drain, a furrow and a burnt pit/hearth of likely modern date. Seven finds were recovered from within the cutting: a diorite hammerstone, an iron object requiring further conservation to allow identification, two unworked flints, a possible fragment of a worked stone and a clay-pipe stem. The worked-stone fragment and the clay-pipe stem were recovered from topsoil.