County: Meath Site name: Site 11 (Field 4), Portan
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: 16E0150
Author: David Bayley, IAC Ltd
Site type: Pit
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 704047m, N 741995m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.417804, -6.434747
Monitoring of topsoil stripping associated with the development of a data centre at Clonee, Co. Meath commenced in December 2015 and is currently (September 2017) ongoing. The site is situated c. 120m north of the village of Clonee in the townlands of Clonee, Portan and Gunnocks. The site comprised of 14 fields of pasture and 4 arable fields bound to the east by the River Pinkeen, which also forms the Meath-Dublin County boundary. Monitoring is being carried out under licence 15E0577, directed by David Bayley, in response to planning conditions attached to the development. Monitoring follows on from previous geophysical survey (licence 15R0005) and test-trenching with metal detection (licences 15E0109 and 15E0028).
Two burnt mound sites (Site 1 and 2) were identified as a result of these investigations which were subsequently excavated under licence 15E0583 by Paul Duffy in February and March 2016. A number of archaeological features have been identified during monitoring to date across the site for which separate licence numbers have been granted to undertake subsequent excavation.
Site 11 was identified as a single pit in Field 4, Portan townland, during monitoring on 14 March 2016. The pit measured 1.05m in diameter and was located centrally in the development area. The pit contains a light grey deposit, with charcoal visible on the south-eastern side. A ring of orange oxidised clay was noted around the circumference of the pit on the remaining sides suggesting function as a hearth. Sites 12 and 14 are located nearby.
IAC Ltd, Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow
