What is recorded here

Eight shallow pits held cremated bones and charcoal within a small rectangular patch of soil. The discovery emerged during road works rather than deliberate digging, suggesting the cemetery stayed hidden beneath ordinary ground for centuries. Coarse decorated pottery in two pits points to prehistoric rituals where fire transformed the dead before burial. The flat landscape concealed a layered history of loss, memory and change.

Excavated as part of the Dundalk Western by-pass project (Excavation Licence No. 04E0811). Eight circular and sub-circular pits containing small quantities of cremated bone and charcoal were uncovered within an area 12m by 7m. Fragments of coarse, decorated prehistoric pottery were discovered in two of the pits. (Hayes 2007, 265) Reference: Hayes, A. 2007 FAUGHART LOWER Pits. In I. Bennett (ed.), Excavations 2004: summary accounts of archaeological excavations in Ireland, 265 (No. 1107). Bray. Wordwell Compiled by: Claire Breen Date of upload: 18 November 2011

A Neolithic flat cemetery, dating to the Early to Middle Neolithic period (c. 4000–3000 BCE), associated with funerary pits containing cremated human remains and charcoal. Its significance lies in providing insights into early burial practices and settlement patterns in the region.

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