What is recorded here

Campbell and later Sweetman excavated seven scattered deposits in the Randalstown mining margin, preserving small charcoal-stained pits and charred wood fragments that ordinary ploughing would have erased. The clay still holds the shape of hands that dug, buried, or burned there before the land became a borrow pit. What those people valued is no longer written anywhere, but the earth kept their marks sharp enough to read.

Archaeological monitoring (03E0666) by K. Campbell of an area of about 25 hectares (c. 60 acres) in the N borrowing area of a mining development identified seven principal areas of archaeological potential that were set aside for further investigation (excavations.ie 2003:1448). Site 5 is described by Campbell (2004, 14-15) as a collection of at least eleven deposits or features in a limited area (dims c. 25m N-S; c. 12m E-W) but it might very well extend under a baulk at E. Apart from small spreads (dim. c. 0.3m to 2.5m x 0.9m) there was a possible stone setting (dim. 1.2m) at one point. A flint scraper and a medieval plough pebble were found in the topsoil. In a later archaeological assessment (10E0075) P. D. Sweetman (2010, 13-21) discovered that this area had been better protected than others and almost all the features could be identified (excavations.ie 2011:496). They proved to be fairly small (diam. c. 0.2m; D 0.1m to 0.6m; D 0.25m) and were filled with various clays, some with charcoal flecks. Feature 7 consisted of five pieces of charred wood (Wth 0.08m; T 0.02m) covering a shallow pit (dims 0.6m x 0.5m D 0.09m) that was filled with a charcoal-stained clay over small pieces of sandstone at the bottom. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 27 March 2023 Campbell, K. 2004 Report on Archaeological Monitoring at Randalstown, Co. Meath. Licence: 03E0666. Unpublished report, Author Sweetman, P. D 20 Report on Archaeological Assessment and Resolution of Archaeological Features (sites 1-5) Randalstown, County Meath. July-August 2011. Licence: 10E0075. Unpublished report, Author

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