County: Meath Site name: Colp Cross
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 07E0891
Author: Robert O’Hara, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd, Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth.
Site type: Early medieval
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 711577m, N 773667m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.700774, -6.310216
This site at Colp Cross, Painestown, was excavated as part of the ongoing development of Colp West, Co. Meath. The excavation was necessitated by the construction of a temporary road to facilitate traffic during the realignment of the current N1 at Colp Cross. Only a small area was to be excavated. Monitoring (under licence 99E0472) had identified a human burial and a number of ditches. Excavation revealed successive early medieval enclosures, only a small portion of which were available for investigation; the remainder will be preserved in situ beneath a proposed roundabout and embankments.
Two multiphase curvilinear ditch sequences were recorded. The earliest phase was represented by a two-phase ditch c. 30m in diameter, hereafter Enclosure 1. The position of the entrance changed over the two phases of this enclosure, but both entrances were causewayed features. A series of ditches to the north of these features are considered to be the corresponding northern extent as they follow the two-phase model and match the projected limit of their presumed counterparts. Enclosure 1 was replaced by a larger structure (Enclosure 2), defined by a deep ditch, recut on a number of occasions.
Two drystone souterrains were also excavated. Souterrain A was a poorly preserved souterrain formed by two oval-shaped chambers connected by two short passages. Souterrain B was located a short distance south-west of Souterrain A. It consisted of a long curving passage and a subrectangular chamber. The entrance to this chamber had been disturbed. The degree of truncation to this souterrain suggested a significant amount of topsoil had been removed prior to excavation. It is unlikely that such an amount of natural subsoil was scarped away by ploughing and may indicate that the centre of the site was artificially raised during this period.
The recovered artefacts suggested wealthy and prosperous people inhabited the settlement between the 6th and 10th centuries. Two bone combs were recovered, as well as fragments of quernstones. An Early Mesolithic blade and an Early Neolithic unfinished arrowhead were also recovered. There was evidence for fine metalworking in the form of crucible and mould fragments, while the prosperity of the settlement was highlighted in the recovery of both A-ware and E-ware pottery.
