What is recorded here

The largest quarry in Ireland now covers the vanished habitation site at Duleek. In 2003, excavators found one elongated stone setting, post-holes, burning and Neolithic pottery before quarrying removed every trace. What remains is not even a ruin but a absence large enough to swallow an entire town.

This monument was excavated in 2003 (License no. 02E0444) and the results recorded as follows by Cormac McSparron (http://www.excavations.ie/report/2002/Meath/0008768/): 'At Duleek Quarry a pottery scatter identified during a previous archaeological impact assessment had indicated an area of possible medieval settlement. Trial-trenching and a geophysical survey were carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the assessment. The geophysical survey revealed no archaeological features; it was the opinion of the geophysicist that the background geology was masking any archaeology. Trial-trenching was carried out on nine areas of interest. No archaeological finds were uncovered in eight of the trenches. In one trench, however, an area of burning associated with an elongated stone setting and some post-holes was found. A number of fragments of Neolithic pottery and a hammer-stone were found in the soil immediately above this archaeology. The site was reburied, but its location was noted for future work before proposed development in the area.' The remains have been entirely removed by quarrying. Compiled by: Paul Walsh Date of upload: 13 August 2015

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