County: Meath Site name: Newrath Little 2
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A029/034; E3154
Author: Yvonne Whitty, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Site type: Prehistoric troughs and gullies
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 672906m, N 774731m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.717162, -6.895464
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 Shane Delaney (IAC Ltd) in 2004 (Excavations 2004, No. 1306, 04E0914). It was excavated between 30 November and 8 December 2006 and consisted of three troughs and two gullies. The troughs and gullies, which were contemporary, were filled with burnt-mound material which had been disturbed through later agricultural practices and was not in situ.
Two of the troughs were in close proximity to each other and were connected by a central gully. The first trough (1.6m by 1.47m by 0.45m) was subcircular and had no evidence for a lining; the second trough (1.54m diameter by 0.3m depth) was circular, had no evidence for a lining and was located to the south-west of the east–west gully (4.2m by 0.12m by 0.2m). This gully was connected to the troughs by smaller gullies and may have acted as a water-channelling feature associated with the activities carried out at the troughs.
The third trough (1.84m by 1.4m by 0.37m) was subcircular and was located c. 3m to the south-west of the two troughs and gullies. It was filled with burnt-mound material and there was no evidence for lining.
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.
