County: Meath Site name: Site 2, Summerhill Demesne
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 07E0164
Author: Aisling Collins, CRDS Ltd, Unit 4A, Dundrum Business Park, Dublin 14.
Site type: Prehistoric
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 684851m, N 748503m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.479719, -6.721681
Excavation was undertaken after archaeology was exposed during testing of the Summerhill–Kilcock road realignment, R158, which took place between 10 and 19 January 2007. The topsoil was removed by a tracked mechanical digger equipped with a 2m-wide toothless ditching bucket. Initial testing exposed a small patch of burnt material. However, a total area of c. 10m by 16m was opened, thus revealing archaeological activity in this area. The main feature was a ‘ring’-shaped ditch, with several ditches in the vicinity. Full excavation was carried out at the site from 26 February to 6 March 2007 by a nine-person team of archaeologists. Excavation encompassed an area with maximum dimensions of 12m north-east by 13.6m.
The site was located c. 0.7km south-east of the town of Summerhill, Co. Meath, 9m from the current road, R158. It is situated within a flat area at the bottom of a hill. On the opposite side of the road there is a marginal wetland area. The site is in a landscape containing three RMP sites, Lynch’s Castle, a stone and cross in the village of Summerhill and a barrow in Curraghdoo.
The archaeological deposits exposed consisted of a ring-shaped ditch cut by a linear feature running outside the limit of excavation on the north-western and south-eastern baulks. There was also an irregular shallow deposit containing large amounts of charcoal to the south of the ring-ditch.
