Excavation in Pace

Situated within the valley of the Tolka River, with a meandering NNW-SSE section of the stream c. 150m to the SW, and a relict pond just to the W. Archaeological centre-line testing (04E0490) by R. O’Hara of Testing area 6 of Contract 1 of the M3 motorway identified a spread of deposits (excavations.ie: 2004:1232) that were fully excavated (E003031) by R. Elliott (excavations.ie 2005:1229) as Pace 1 in September to November 2005. What was thought to have been a spread of burnt mound material proved to be natural riverine gravels, but a total of 24 pits (dims 0.34m x 0.26m; D 0.24 to 2.05m x 2.03m; D 0.16m) were recorded as well as numerous stake and post-holes, and a cereal-drying kiln. The pits were filled with a grey/brown/orange clayey silt with inclusions of pebbles, but charcoal flecks, largely hazel, were present in only 11 pits. A sample of hazel from one pit produced a C14 date of 2461-2155 cal. BC. Water-logged remains of thistle and grass were recorded in two pits, and animal bones were recovered from six, a sample of which provided a radiocarbon date of 924-806 cal. BC. There were few artefacts recovered from the pits, but sherds of likely Late Bronze Age pottery and a fragment of a clay mould of a bladed weapon were recovered as well as flint debitage and a cockle shell. There were 15 post-holes and 175 stake-holes, but no pattern is discernible amongst the post-holes, and the stake-holes clustered, together with the pits, at the W end of a ditch (Wth 0.5-0-.55m; D 0.24m) that terminated at the edge of a pond. Post-medieval material was recovered from the upper fill of this drain. (Elliott et al. 2008) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 3 November 2021 O’Hara, R. 2004 M3 Clonee-North of Kells. Contract 1: Clonee-Dunshaughlin. Report on Archaeological Assessment at Testing Area 6. Dunboyne/ Pace/ Woodpark, County Meath. Licence: 04E0490. Unpublished report, ACS