Pit in Dunboyne

Archaeological centre-line testing (04E0489) by R. O’Hara of Testing Area 5 of Contract 1 prior to the construction of the M3 motorway identified archaeological features (excavations.ie: 2004:1191) that were excavated (E003035) by the same archaeologist as Dunboyne 3 in August 2005. A kidney-shaped pit (dims 2.5m x 0.6-1.1m; max. D 0.3m) was filled with two light-grey/brown clays that contained bone flecks and frequent charcoal inclusions. Flint and chert debitage as well as 22 sherds from six vessels, a carinated Neolithic bowl and five Beaker vessels, were recovered, and other sherds had been retrieved in the original testing. Two of the Beaker vessels had comb-impressed lines immediately below the rims, and shell-impressed lines could represent all-over ornament on another Beaker vessel. The charcoal was dominated by samples of ash, with elm, oak, hawthorn and hazel also present. The pit probably represents domestic waste from a settlement in the vicinity that is outside the road-corridor. A fragment of ash charcoal from the secondary fill produced a radiocarbon date of 2576-2341 cal. BC. (O’Hara 2008) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 3 November 2021 O’Hara, R. 2008 M3 Clonee - North of Kells, Contract 1 Clonee – Dunshaughlin. Final Report on the Archaeological Excavation of Dunboyne 3, Co. Meath. Licence: E003035. Unpublished report, Archaeological Consultancy Services