Structure in Town Parks (kells Upper By.)

Situated on a slight S-facing slope. Archaeological testing (04E0915) by S. Delaney (2005) at Testing Area 12 of Contract 4 of the M3 motorway identified (excavations.ie 2004:1355) archaeological material that was completely excavated (E003151) in November 2006 by Y. Whitty (2010) as Town Parks 5 when an area of 4782 square metres was opened to record a Neolithic house and structure (excavations.ie 2007:1399). A rectangular structure (ext. dims 6.5m WNW-ESE; 4m NNE-SSW) defined by pairs of postholes at the angles was c. 50m SE of the Neolithic house. Samples from the postholes identified oak almost exclusively. A slot-trench, with a central posthole forms the E wall, and a short gully at the SW posts may be the last remnant of a similar W wall but there is no evidence of N and S walls. The paired posts are on a WNW-ESE alignment, suggesting that the stresses of the structure were in these directions. Most of the posts had decayed in situ, and the postholes produced two sherds of pottery and occasional fragments of calcined animal bone. A sample of hazelnut shell from one of the postholes provided the C14 date 3770-3654 cal. BC (UBA 12048), and oak from another yielded a date of 3698-3637 cal. BC (UBA 12046). Four pits (dims 0.58m x 0.25m; D 0.15m to 3.28m x 0.88m; D 0.26m) and a posthole are within 3-4m of the structure, but only produced one sherd of pottery. (Whitty 11-15) See the attached site plan and monument plan from Whitty (2010, figs 6, 9) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 11 March 2022