Archaeological excavation report, E3086 Dowdstown 2, County Meath

This site at Dowdstown 2 was excavated by Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd (ACS) as part of the M3 Clonee–North of Kells Motorway Scheme on behalf of Meath County Council NRDO and the NRA. The excavation was carried out between 26 September 2005 and 1 December 2006 under Ministerial Direction Number A008/033 issued by DOEHLG in consultation with the NMI. The registration number was E3086. Excavations revealed extensive evidence for early medieval settlement overlooking the River Boyne. The site was located southwest of the modern Ballinter Bridge, and it is possible that the settlement developed at the site of a fording point during the sixth century AD and continued as a settlement for a number of centuries. The site had been extensively damaged by reclamation and landscape work in the last century, and this may perhaps explain the lack of associated features within the interior of the main settlement enclosures. There was ample evidence for a developed contemporary field system around the settlement, with a number of cereal-drying kilns excavated at the site.