Excavation — miscellaneous in Mell

Sections of six separate linear ditches were exposed and excavated here in 2000-1 prior road construction of the M1 motorway (Excavation Licence 00E0631). 'Ditch A' was located 27m SE of a souterrain (LH024-043001-), it was V- shaped (Wth 2-3.5m; D 1.56m) and a 24m length running in a E-W direction was excavated to facilitate the road development. The only find was a piece of iron slag. 'Ditch B' was located just over 40m S of 'Ditch A'. The excavated L was 29m (Wth 1.7-2.8m; D 1.18m). Finds recovered included animal bones, a lignite spindle whorl, part of a lignite bracelet and a blue glass bead. 'Ditch C' was V-shaped (max. Wth 1.6m; D 0.7- 2m) and appeared to be cut by the souterrain. A sherd of pottery and some possible cremated bone were recovered from the fill. 'Ditch D' was located 20m S of the souterrain, it was V-shaped (Wth c. 1.5m; D 0.6m) and its surviving L was 13.11m. A number of flint flakes and some possible sherds of Neolithic pottery were recovered from the area around this ditch. (Breen 2002, 236-7). 'Feature F' (Wth 2-3.5m) was located 27m SW of the souterrain and the only find from it was a piece of iron slag. 'Feature G' (Wth 1.7-2.8m; D 1.18m), was located 41m south of the souterrain and finds 'included a flint blade, cores and débitage, prehistoric pottery, a cylindrical wooden object, and two items of lignite or similar material: a spindle-whorl and a fragment of a bracelet'. (Breen 2003, 267) Compiled by: Claire Breen Date of upload: 03 July 2013