County: Longford Site name: Ballyminion/Aghareagh/Mullagh/Cartrons/Moneylagan/Aghadegnan
Sites and Monuments Record No.: 211600 274991 to 212790 277258 Licence number: 08E0861
Author: Graham Hull, TVAS (Ireland) Ltd, Ahish, Ballinruan, Crusheen, Co. Clare.
Site type: Prehistoric,and,medieval
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 611665m, N 774695m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.721800, -7.823246
Centreline with offset test-trenching examined 13016.08 linear metres at 2m wide along the proposed route of the N5 Longford bypass. The total area of the road CPO is 211,320m2 and the total examined sample was 12.3%.
Four archaeological sites were discovered. These were an iron-smelting furnace (radiocarbon dated to cal bc 409–386) and associated pit, a seemingly unenclosed inhumation cemetery (radiocarbon dated to the later 15th to mid-17th centuries ad) with no evidence of an associated ecclesiastical structure, a feature with in situ burning and a cluster of three burnt stone deposits. A modern brick-making kiln and a modern pit were also found. In addition, a piece of struck and fire-heated flint and a dump of post-medieval pottery were recovered.
