County: Westmeath Site name: Kilbeggan South
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: A016/082; E2681
Author: Tim Coughlan, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Site type: Pits with industrial function
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 633175m, N 734419m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.358942, -7.501618
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 July 2005 (A016/082). The site was excavated in April 2006. Two excavation areas measuring 14m by 30m and 18m by 12m were opened.
The site consisted of a collection of four small pits, all of which showed evidence of burning, with two appearing to have represented areas of burning in situ. It is unclear what their precise function was, though it seems unlikely that they were associated with metalworking, as none of the features exhibit evidence of the heat required for such work. The four pits varied in measurement between 0.5m and 2.8m long, 0.35–1.3m wide and 0.09–0.25m deep.
The presence of small fragments of burnt bone within one of the fills points to possible cremation practices, and it is possible that the pit represented the deliberate deposition of material rather than the location of the burning itself. It is possible that each of the four pits is unrelated in terms of its function and that collectively they represented isolated features in the landscape.
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.
