County: Meath Site name: Site 12 (Field 4), Portan
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: 16E0151
Author: David Bayley, IAC Ltd
Site type: Pit
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 704085m, N 741934m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.417248, -6.434196
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 12 was identified as a single pit in Field 4, Portan townland, during monitoring on 16 March 2016. The pit measured 0.9m in diameter and was located centrally in the development area. The pit contained a light brownish-grey plastic clay fill, with moderate to frequent inclusions of charcoal, oxidised clay and lenses of ash, suggesting function as a hearth. Sites 11 and 14 are located nearby.
IAC Ltd, Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow
