Ring-ditch in Harlockstown

Situated on a gentle N-facing slope down to a small W-E tributary on the S side of the Broad Meadow River in a fairly level landscape. Archaeological excavation (03E1526) from January to June 2004 by D. J. O’Connor at Site 19 in advance of the N2 Finglas – Ashbourne road and by-pass recorded a complex of prehistoric and early historic features (excavations.ie 2004:1249). The Iron Age is represented by metalworking (ME045-034001-) and this ring-ditch which was placed downslope from the centre of the metalworking and is c. 30m N of the ditch-barrow (ME045-034----). It was badly eroded but consists of a circular area (int. diam. 7.85m) defined by a fosse (Wth 0.7m; D 0.45m) with no evidence of either an inner mound or outer bank. There was no evidence of burials and no artefacts were recovered. There was no evidence of a doorway, roof supports in the form of post-holes, or a hearth but a light brown silty clay with charcoal flecks in the interior is interpreted as the possible floor of a hut-site. The ditch had four contexts with charcoal present and it produced a lot of flint, which it is thought might be redeposited, and some animal bones. A sample from the basal layer of the ditch produced a C14 date of 180 cal. BC – 30 cal. AD. (O’Connor 2008, 32-3) See the attached plan (N at top left) from O'Connor (2008, fig. 10) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 17 December 2021 O’Connor, D. J. 2008 N2 Finglas – Ashbourne Road Scheme. Report on archaeological excavation of Site 19 Harlockstown, County Meath. Licence No. 03E1526. Unpublished report, CRDS (V 1 text)