County: Westmeath Site name: Aghafin
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A016/037; E2665
Author: Patricia Lynch, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Site type: Burnt mound and trough features
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 615888m, N 737732m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.389512, -7.761145
Testing was carried out as part of an archaeological mitigation programme in association with the N6 Kilbeggan to Athlone dual carriageway. The site was identified during testing undertaken in August 2005 (A016/029). An excavation area measuring 30m by 25m (750m2) was opened at Aghafin 1 in April 2006.
The site consisted of a single burnt mound which in turn may have had up to three troughs, though it is not clear whether these troughs were operating contemporaneously or mark different phases of use of the use of the site. One trough, which contained two stake-holes in its base, appeared to be cut by a second trough, within which evidence of a timber lining was uncovered. A group of possible stake-holes were uncovered alongside the trough, the precise function of which was unclear but they may have supported a canopy of some description. A further group of stake-holes was identified to the west of the troughs and these may have supported a light temporary structure, though again this is unclear. No archaeological finds were recovered from the excavation.
This work was funded by Westmeath 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.
