County: Meath Site name: Cookstown Great 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A029/019; E3137
Author: Patricia Lynch, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Site type: Modern agricultural activity and possible prehistoric spread
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 676223m, N 773193m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.702864, -6.845597
This site was located within Contract 4 (Navan–Kells and Kells bypass) of the M3 Clonee to North of Kells motorway scheme and was identified during testing carried out by Dermot Nelis (IAC Ltd) in 2004 (Excavations 2004, No. 1213, 04E0918). It was excavated between 25 September and 21 November 2006 and consisted of modern agricultural furrows, a spread and other irregular-shaped features which were interpreted as non-archaeological. Finds from this site included possible prehistoric pottery.
The north-west/south-east-aligned spread (c. 6m by 3m by 1.2m), consisting of a dark-brown, sandy silty clay containing fragments of prehistoric pottery and burnt bone, was initially thought to have been two separate spreads. Two modern agricultural furrows cut this spread.
This work was funded by Meath County Council and the National Roads Authority.
Editor’s note: Although excavated during 2006, the report on this site arrived too late for inclusion in the bulletin of that year.
