County: Meath Site name: Fennor and Slane
Sites and Monuments Record No.: Various Licence number: E004659 (Ext.)
Author: Declan Moore
Site type: Urban
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 696526m, N 774980m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.715560, -6.537661
A programme of archaeological monitoring was carried out at various locations at Fennor and in the village of Slane, Co. Meath as part of the Meath Watermains Rehabilitation Scheme (Phase 2).
The project involved overseeing roadside trench digging by mechanical excavator (included stretches of open-cut trenching and launch and receptor pits excavated for locating existing services, pipe bursting and domestic connections) at various locations including at Fennor townland, along the N2 Dublin – Derry national route, the Hill of Slane and various housing estates.
Monitoring took place on various dates between July and October 2018.The monitoring found that most of the excavated ground consisted of either natural, archaeologically sterile soil and outcrops of rock or ground that has been disturbed by modern activity and contains redeposited fills.
A layer of cobbles was uncovered in one receptor pit on Main Street. The cobble layer comprised very rough paving of small to medium sized rounded and angular cobbles overlying a light brown sandy clay with some gravel and reddish-brown clay with occasional stones and a grey marl subsoil. A jostle stone is located just off the crossroads at Mill Hill in Slane on the western pillar of an existing gateway. Extreme care was taken in the immediate area and the area around the jostle stone was carefully excavated. It extended to a depth of 0.4m below the ground surface giving it a total length of 0.8m. The jostle stone was preserved in situ and remains undisturbed.
Nothing further of archaeological significance was noted during the course of archaeological monitoring.
3 Gort na Rí, Athenry, Co. Galway
