County: Westmeath Site name: Cregganmacar 4
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A016/085; E2703
Author: Patricia Lynch, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Site type: Burnt spread
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 617391m, N 737496m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.387344, -7.738568
Testing was carried out as part of an archaeological mitigation programme associated with the N6 Kilbeggan to Athlone dual carriageway. The site was identified during testing undertaken by the writer in August 2005 (A016/029). The site was excavated in February 2006. An excavation area measuring 15m by 13m was opened.
The site consisted of a single layer of burnt-mound material that measured 8.3m long by 5.6m wide by 0.12m deep and consisted of charcoal-enriched soil that contained heat-shattered stones. This deposit overlay a deposit of naturally-occurring peat, which in turn overlay the natural subsoil. No finds were recovered during 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.
