County: Wicklow Site name: Merrymeeting
Sites and Monuments Record No.: WI025-010001, WI025-010003,WI025-088001 Licence number: 15E0147 EXT.
Author: Yvonne Whitty
Site type: Burnt spread
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 728970m, N 695308m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.992959, -6.078877
Monitoring was carried out on various dates from September to November 2015 on behalf of Wicklow County Council in advance of the development of a playground at Merrymeeting, Rathnew, Co. Wicklow.
This site is adjacent to the remains of a medieval church site associated with St Ernin in Commons townland. A total of thirteen test trenches were excavated in May 2015 and although there were no finds or features relating to the medieval church site identified, the remains of a burnt mound and associated features were exposed at the western part of the site.
The ground at the western end of the site was low-lying and boggy and a burnt mound, trough, curvilinear ditch and associated pits were exposed. All of these features were contained within an area which measured approximately 15m x 11m. The burnt mound C3 was visible as a deposit of black silty sand which had frequent inclusions of heat-affected sandstone fragments. The burnt mound material was visible in Trenches 1, 2 and 6. It measured 11m in length and 6m in width. The partial remains of a wood-lined trough, C5, which was 0.15m in excavated depth, was exposed in Trench 2.
Approximately 2m north-east of the spread of burnt mound material, also in Trench 1, a curvilinear ditch was exposed, C4. This feature had an exposed length of 9m, was 0.5m in width and was 0.25m in depth. This shallow ditch, which appeared to have at least one rounded terminal, was deliberately backfilled with a very dark brown loose silty clay which contained moderate inclusions of angular heat-affected sandstone. The fill of this feature was very similar to the burnt mound material, C3 and appeared to be contemporary with it. Four deposits similar to the fill of this curvilinear feature were also exposed adjacent to it in Trench 1 (C6, C7, C9), and in Trench 3 deposit C8 was exposed. It is possible that these are features associated with the curvilinear feature and burnt mound activities.
No further finds or features of archaeological significance were exposed. The design of the playground was altered so that the burnt mound and associated features could be preserved in situ.
De Faoite Archaeology, Unit 10, Riverside Business Centre, Tinahely, County Wicklow
