2021:781 - Piercetown & Cradockstown, Dunboyne, Meath

Archaeological testing, monitoring and excavation took place at a site in the townlands of Piercetown and Cradockstown, north of Dunboyne. Archaeological testing (nine trenches) and monitoring were carried out on the route of a proposed haul road and topsoil storage area in the east and south-east area of the site (Area A in Cradockstown), with additional monitoring carried out at an area to the west of this (Area B in Piercetown). Three ‘isolated’ pits and concentrations of features at Sites 4, 8 and 9 were identified, all of which were subject to excavation. Sites 8 and 9 were first detected during test trenching in 2006 (licence no. 06E0635), while Site 4 was first uncovered during testing in 2016 (licence no. 16E0451). Many of the archaeological features excavated across the site are likely to relate to previously identified ditched enclosures (Sites 1–3) that are preserved in situ and probably represent early medieval settlement, along with an extensive system of annexes and field boundaries. The sod and topsoil (C1) across the site varied from 0.35–0.55m in thickness and lay above the natural subsoil (C2), which consisted of orange clay and stone.
At Site 4, a keyhole-shaped cereal-drying kiln (C102), a post-hole (C122), two pits (C103 & C109), one possible pit (C117), two linear features (C111 & C113) and two ditches (C104 & C106) were identified. A 14C date of cal. AD 770– 990 (95.4%) was obtained from a sample of willow charcoal (0.12g) from the primary fill (C119) of kiln C102, suggesting that the feature dated from the early medieval period. The kiln contained charred barley, with lesser amounts of oat and wheat, with similar plant macro-remains present in the nearby post-hole and pits, suggesting some may represent the truncated remains of additional kilns or associated waste pits. The two parallel ditches (C104 & C106), set c. 3m apart, may represent part of a field system associated with the nearby enclosures and annexes. The partially articulated remains of a dog, represented by 39 complete or fragmented bone elements, were identified in the base of ditch C106, above which was a fill that included a sherd of 13th-century Dublin-type ware and several additional bone fragments, including four loose cattle teeth and a cattle mandible.
Site 8 consisted of a modern drainage ditch (C11) and a charcoal-rich pit (C10). A 14C date of 2570–2230 cal. BC (95.4%) was obtained from a sample of alder charcoal (0.28g) from the primary fill (C29) of the pit, suggesting that the feature dated to the Chalcolithic. The purpose of this pit was unclear as there was no evidence of in-situ burning. The pit had an undulating base, perhaps suggesting it was simply a result of field clearance, either tree roots or large stones, when the land was being cleared for agricultural use.
Site 9 consisted of a very large pit (C41) and four post-holes (C13, C14, C15 & C30). The post-holes represented a fourposter structure that could have supported a small platform measuring c. 2.5m in length by 1m in width. The adjacent large pit (C41), measuring 8.75m in length and 6.4m in width at the top, was only partially investigated as the location of the berm was altered to ensure that it is preserved in situ beneath a layer of geotextile and topsoil. Prior to this, a T-shaped section was excavated through the pit to determine the horizontal and vertical extent, however, at a depth of 0.85m the pit began to fill up with groundwater and so the base was not reached. This suggests it may represent a well or waterhole.
Several fragments of animal bone (including a loose horse tooth) and seven sherds of 13th-century Dublin-type ware were recovered from the upper fills of this pit.
The three isolated pits (C35, C37 & C39) varied in morphology and size but all included charcoal and some heat-affected stones, with fragments of bone unidentifiable to species or element also recovered from pit C37.

Unit 21 Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda, Co. Louth. A92 DH99.