County: Meath Site name: Woodpole
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A043/007; E3641
Author: Stuart Rathbone, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd, Unit 21, Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda.
Site type: Burnt-mound activity
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 667597m, N 778229m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.749299, -6.975114
Test-trenching was undertaken in the area of a proposed borrow pit in the townland of Woodpole, Co. Meath, adjacent to the M3 Clonee to North of Kells motorway scheme. Twenty trenches were excavated over two fields at 20m intervals, and 10m intervals where archaeological features were discovered, with a combined length of 1507m. Three features of archaeological interest were discovered: a spread of burnt-mound material (8m diameter by 0.2m depth), a pit (1.1m diameter) and a gully (10m by 0.3m by 0.07m) filled with burnt-mound material. A large area inside the extraction zone was stripped of topsoil in this corner in order to clarify whether further associated features were present. None were exposed. The archaeological deposits were covered and preserved in situ and the borrow pit limited in size to avoid the archaeological material.
