What is recorded here

On a slight north-facing slope in Grange, a narrow pit no deeper than a man's knee held charcoal, burnt bone and possibly a sheep or goat. The carbon date places that heat and loss between 1459 and 1613, when the M3 motorway did not exist and the ground still belonged to neighbourhood memory. Whoever stood there may have believed a small fire and a smaller hole were enough to honour what they lost.

Situated on a slight N-facing slope. Archaeological testing (04E0925) by J. Roynane (2005) at Testing Area 2 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified archaeological material (excavations.ie 2004:1245) that was excavated (E003125) by P. Lynch (2010) as Grange 1 in late July/August 2006 (excavations.ie 2007:1320) when a possible pit burial, a corn-drying kiln and metalled surfaces were recorded in an area of just over 1500 square metres. This pit (dims 0.38m x 0.34m; D 0.1m) was filled with a charcoal-enriched soil (50%) and burnt bone (25%). The only bone identified is possibly sheep/goat, and a sample provided a C14 date of 1613-1459 (UBA 12939). (Lynch 2010, 5) See the attached site-plan adapted from Lynch (2010, fig. 5) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 24 March 2022

Pit-burial in Grange; likely a simple funerary feature from the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. Its significance lies in its contribution to understanding burial practices along the M3 motorway archaeological landscape.

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