Barrow — ditch barrow in Rath (ratoath By., Cookstown Par.)

Situated at the top of a SW-facing slope with a low ridge extending off to the NW and a small W-E canalised stream or ditch c. 240m to the SW. Archaeological excavation (03E1214) by H. Schweitzer between March and October 2004 in advance of the northern section of the N2 by-pass around Ashbourne on site 27 involved the complete excavation of six areas numbered from the S with Area 6 on the NE side of the original N2. Features recorded in Area 5 include this completely excavated ditch barrow with the barrows (ME039-015----) and (ME039-013----) c. 4m and c. 25m to the S and SSE respectively (Schweitzer 2009, 22). This is a circular area (int. diam. 6m E-W; 5.8m N-S) defined by a fosse of variable form (Wth of top 1-1.2m; D 0.3m at E to 0.5m at N). There were five major layers in the fosse which indicated a history of original construction as a ring-barrow, with a little silting followed by some cremated deposits in the fosse at N. Further silting separated these from a second deposit of cremations. The ditch was sealed with redeposited natural, which appeared to have come from the central mound. A trench (dims 3m x 0.7m; D 0.3m) was subsequently dug into the fosse at N and filled with charcoal-rich deposits including burnt bone, although not confirmed as human. Some flint debitage and a pot boiler were recovered from this phase. Further re-cuts were made in the fosse with two more cremated deposits, one with an iron nail. Three pits c. 12m to the W, some with cremated bone are probably related to the ditch-barrow (ibid. 2009, 25-7). The barrow was re-used in the Iron Age when a crouched burial was inserted into the fills of the ditch at SSW. The grave-cut (dims 1.3m x 0.66m; D 0.55m) contained a single individual facing W. Grave goods consisted of three copper alloy toe-rings. It proved impossible to produce a radiocarbon date, but toe-rings have been found on comparable graves in Britain and a date of first century BC / AD can be suggested (ibid. 36-7). Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 3 March 2021