Barrow

Situated at the top of a SW-facing slope with a low ridge extending off to the NW and a small W-E canalised stream or ditch c. 240m to the SW. Archaeological excavation (03E1214) by H. Schweitzer between March and October 2004 in advance of the northern section of the N2 by-pass around Ashbourne on site 27 involved the complete excavation of six areas numbered from the S with Area 6 on the NE side of the original N2 road. Features recorded in Area 5 include this completely excavated ditch-barrow with the barrow (ME039-015----) c. 4m to the N, and barrow (ME039-013----) c. 20m to the SSE (Schweitzer 2009, 22). This is a circular area (int. diam. 2.15m; ext. diam. 5.75m) defined by the shallow remains of a fosse (Wth c. 0.8m; D c. 0.08m) that was filled with a silty sand which had occasional charcoal inclusions. There were no features within the ditch and no artefacts were recovered from this severely truncated monument (ibid. 25). Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 3 March 2021

Ditch barrow, likely dating to the Early Bronze Age. Its construction and location suggest a ceremonial or funerary function, typical of burial practices in Ireland during this period.