County: Westmeath Site name: Newdown
Sites and Monuments Record No.: WM027–001 Licence number: 08E0326
Author: Nial O’Neill, Headland Archaeology Ltd, Unit 1, Wallingstown Business Park, Little Island, Cork.
Site type: Probable ringfort
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 650740m, N 750284m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.500107, -7.235225
Testing was undertaken on WM027–001 (an enclosure) on behalf of Westmeath County Council as part of the N4 The Downs grade separation scheme. The site lies 11km east of Mullingar, immediately north of the N4 at The Downs, Newdown, Co. Westmeath. Testing was designed to access the remains or otherwise of WM027–001. Prior to testing, a geophysical survey was carried out by Target Archaeological Geophysics. The results of this appeared to confirm the presence or outline of a probable ringfort defined by two enclosing ditches.
Two sites, WM027–002 and WM027–004 (enclosures), lay in close proximity to the testing area. The present site was situated directly to the north of the N4. WM027–002 was also located on the northern side of the N4 and 0.4km due east, whilst WM027–004 was located on the southern side of the N4 and 0.16km due south.
The removal of 0.4m of topsoil, in six trenches, revealed two concentric subcircular ditches and a fire spot or hearth. The outer ditch or fosse was 42m in maximum diameter, 2.75m in width and 1.2m in depth while the inner ditch was 25m in diameter, 2.6m in width and 1.05m in depth. No artefacts were recovered.
Evidence for a bank, located between the two ditches or fosses, was seen in a slumping backfill of the outer ditch. Further evidence for this was also found at the northern end between the enclosing ditches where a deposit of possible bank material was identified. No evidence was found for a bank inside the inner ditch.
The probable hearth was located in the interior of the enclosure and was 0.8m in length and 0.6m in width. This contained charcoal-rich sandy silt and clear evidence of fire-reddened clay was observed.
A second enclosure, WM027–004, was tested during this project. This site was located 150m south of WM027–001 and revealed a subcircular ditch or fosse (see No. 1262 above, 08E0324), probably also a ringfort. A third site, 0.32km to the north, recognised through aerial photography, was also tested during this project (see No. 1263 above, 08E0325). This revealed a much-denuded deposit of fulacht fiadh/burnt-mound material c. 4m in diameter and 0.2m in height.
These findings confirmed the presence of a subcircular enclosure as seen on the third-edition OS map as WM027–001 and morphologically appeared to be that of a ringfort.
