Platform — peatland in Clowanstown (skreen By., Skreen Ed.)

Located in a fairly level landscape at the W edge of what was probably a small lake (dims c. 1.5km NW-SE; c. 0.75m NE-SW) which is described as the ‘Logh and bog of Shrereene’ on the Down Survey (1656-8) barony map and as a ‘Marl Bed’ (max. dims c. 0.5km E-W; c 0.4km N-S) on the 1836 edition of the OS 6-inch map. The original lake was probably coterminous with Commons (Skreen by.) townland. Archaeological testing (04E0418) by J. Dempsey of Testing Area 4, Contract 2, prior to the construction of the M3 motorway identified four upstanding mounds of organic material and marl. Mound A (dims 10.05m N-S; 4.8m E-W; max. H 0.58m) was 2m ENE of Mound B (dims 6.7m x 4.7m; max. H 0.12m). Mound C (dims 4.5m x 4.1m; max. H 0.2m) was 5.6m SE of A while D (dims 1.3m x 1.05m; H 0.15m) was just 2m N of A (Dempsey 2004, 12-13). The area was fully excavated (E003064) by M. Mossop (Mossop M. and Mossop E. 2009) as Clowanstown 1 (excavations.ie 2006:1533) between September and December 2006 when it proved to be a complex area with a Mesolithic post-row structure and stone platform that had four associated fish-traps, together with four Neolithic mounds and excavated features. Within a natural hollow (dims 7m E-W; 6.25m N-S; max. D 0.25m) in the mounds of sphagnum mosses post-dating the Mesolithic post-row structure and the use of the fish-traps a layer of sometimes charred roundwoods was placed to consolidate a platform, and some burnt bone and charcoal flecks filtered through to the sphagnum below. Two chert blades, three butt-trimmed flint points and blades, a polished bone fragment and a stone disc are associated with the platform, and a sample of alder from it produced a C14 date of 4250-4000 cal. BC (BETA 246999) placing it at the end of the Mesolithic. A post-hole with an alder stake was at its N margin. A later trough or quarry made a large hole (dims 3.6m NE-SW; 2.1m NW-SE) at its centre which may have removed evidence of a hearth, and it also truncated a pit or post-hole (diam. 0.35m; D 0.55m) beneath the platform. The whole area including the platform was covered by a layer of peat (max. T 0.6m) that had occasional inclusions of bone, flints or pottery. This peat supported scrub and small trees and marks the transition to the Early Neolithic, which would be dominated by five mounds of redeposited marl and burnt material. (Mossop and Mossop 2009, 11-12) See the attached plans from Mossop and Mossop (figs 9, 10) _1 Plan of the basal hollows and the platform; _2 Plan of the platform; Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 19 April 2022