2010:459 - COLLON: School Lane, Louth

Two phases of testing were undertaken at the location of a proposed pitch development at School Lane, Collon, Co. Louth. Geophysical survey had been undertaken at the site as part of this assessment but had not conclusively identified archaeological remains.

A total of twenty test-trenches with a combined length of 1188m were mechanically excavated. One archaeological site was identified at the south-eastern corner of the area. An area of 15m x 15m was cleared of topsoil, revealing a group of seven Bronze Age cremation burials. The site was later excavated under an extension to the testing licence.

The archaeological remains survived as a cluster of seven pits containing deposits of cremated human bone and charcoal. Three of the pits contained substantial, but fragmented, pottery vessels inverted over cremated remains. A fourth contained sherds from a broken vessel. The pottery consisted of a single bipartite vase, two cordoned urns with some collared urn affinities and the base of a third cinerary urn. A date of 1900–1730 BC (SUERC 31688 3490±30BP) was returned from a sample of charcoal (Alnus glutinosa) collected from the fill of the pit containing the bipartite, vase food vessel.