ARDSALLAGH 2
| Site Name/Townland | Site Number | Description | Provisional site type | Provisional dating |
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| Ardsallagh 2 | 2-35 | Possible round house and nearby possible cremation pits | Possible building & possible burial site | Possible Bronze Age |
Testing
Just north of the River Boyne at Ardsallagh 2 (Section 2) a c .9m diameter circular ditch with postholes and pits was found during testing.
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Extract of 1st edition Ordnance Survey map (1836) showing location of site at Ardsallagh 2, indicated by the blue circle in the lower half of the map. The River Boyne flows to the south-east of the site, curving northwards along the edge of Dowdstown Demesne. A small section of the main Dunshaughlin to Navan road is visible to the north-east of the river. The extents of Dowdstown Demesne are indicated by the light grey shading to the east and south-east of the river. The demesne parkland is landscaped and Dowdstown House is depicted in the centre-right of the map. (OS Sheet 31, Scale 1:10,560. Reproduced by courtesy of the Board of Trinity College Dublin). |
Excavation
Archaeological excavation at Ardsallagh 2 was carried out by ACS Ltd and is now complete. The archaeological excavations revealed two circular structures, measuring c. 8m in diameter, one of which was initially identified during testing. The two structures each enclosed a cremation pit, with a further six cremation pits located outside of the structures. These circular structures are currently interpreted as Bronze Age roundhouses. A ring-ditch was also uncovered, measuring c. 20m diameter and enclosing two pits.
Cremation Burials
Cremation was a predominant burial rite in Ireland in the Bronze Age. Occasionally the cremated bone and part of the funeral pyre were buried in a pit inside a ringditch or in the ditch itself. Other times the cremated remains were placed in a pottery vessel and buried in the ground. Two pits, each containing a pottery vessel in which was contained cremated (burnt) bone and charcoal, were removed by professional conservator Susannah Kelly in February and March 2006. The urns will be excavated under laboratory conditions.
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| To prepare the pot for removal by the conservator, soil is excavated from around the pot. Approximately 3-5cm of soil is left in situ to keep the pot in place, creating a pedestal on which the pot sits. | Cling film (or tin foil) is then wrapped around the pedestal. This acts as a release layer beneath the resin bandages, allowing the hardened resin to be peeled off without damaging the soil pedestal or pot. | |
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| Resin bandages are applied after the release layer and left to dry. The resin hardens to provide a solid protective shell around the pedestal, allowing it to be safely lifted. The conservator marks the hardened resin with the archaeological site's DOEHLG record number and a north arrow indicating its orientation in the ground prior to removal.
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The pedestal is carefully undermined with small wooden wedges inserted at its base.
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| The conservator slides a board under the pedestal to provide a platform on which it can be lifted from the pit. | The pedestal is lifted into a hard plastic container lined with protective bubble-wrap for transport to the laboratory. |
Download recently published articles on Ardsallagh 1 and 2 in our Publications section.
Return to Section 2.
Final Report
Please click on the link to access the final archaeological report for Ardsallagh 2
| Final Report of Ardsallagh 2 | 5.16MB |
