County: Meath Site name: Site 16 (Field 13) Gunnocks
Sites and Monuments Record No.: n/a Licence number: 16E0195
Author: David Bayley, IAC Ltd
Site type: Pit
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 703854m, N 742809m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.425160, -6.437370
Archaeological monitoring of topsoil stripping associated with the development of a data centre at Clonee, Co. Meath commenced in December 2015 and is currently 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 field 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 as per the approved Monitoring 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 (licence 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 16 was identified in March 2016 during monitoring in Field 13. The site comprised a single pit of unknown date or function. Several sites containing single pits have been recorded across the development area, with an example recorded at Site 21 c. 25m to the north.
IAC Ltd, Unit G1, Network Enterprise Park, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow
