Charcoal-making site in Gunnocks

Archaeological monitoring (15E0577) by P. Duffy, D. Bayle and J. Whitaker of topsoil stripping over a large area (c. 92 ha.) conducted intermittently between Dec. 2015 and October 2018 uncovered 37 locations of potential archaeological importance (excavations.ie 2016:051). Each of these was further investigated by the same archaeologists under different licences. At Site 34 two pits of late Neolithic date (ME051-058----) were excavated (18E0143) c. 15m NNW of this linear pit (dims 0.84m x 0.52m; D 0.09m) that was recorded under the same licence. This pit was filled with a single layer of grey clay and charcoal with inclusions of burnt bone and decayed stone. Two parallel N-S sections of linear cuts (L 1.28m; Wth 0.37m; D 0.06m; L 8.3m; Wth 1.6m; D 0.18m) c. 2m apart and filled with yellow/brown clays were just 5m to the NE and were probably drains on either side of field boundary. A sample from the charcoal-pit provided a C14 date of 547-641 cal. AD (FTMC-BD08-10), while a sample from the longer ditch yielded a date of 658-775 cal. AD (FTMC-BD08-13), demonstrating that they are closely contemporary and date to the early medieval period. There were some undiagnostic burnt bones that are likely to be animal, and some unburnt bone of a medium to large mammal were also present. (Duffy et. al. 2021, 24). Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload; 26 April, 2023 Duffy, P., Fairhead, S. & F. Fleeshouven 2021 Final Excavation Report for Sites 3-37, Clonee, Portan, Gunnocks, Co. Meath. Multiple licences, Unpublished report, Irish Archaeological Consultancy