Archaeological excavation report, E2755 Kilbeggan South 1.2, County Westmeath

At the request of Westmeath County Council, CRDS Ltd. have undertaken a programme of archaeological excavations for part of the proposed N6 Kinnegad to Kilbeggan Dual Carriageway. In total 64 archaeological sites were identified during centreline testing as part of the Advance Archaeological Investigation, Contract 2: Tyrrellspass to Kilbeggan (conducted by CRDS Ltd. under licence 04E0579). This report refers to the excavation of a site located in Kilbeggan South townland in the parish of Kilbeggan and barony of Moycashel, Co. Westmeath. Within the road scheme it is located on a portion of the N52 and a local road leading to the new N6-N52 intersection south of Kilbeggan. The programme of excavation was undertaken between 9th – 14th December 2004 as part of Ministerial Direction A1 (Site Identification A001-054 - registration E2755). The following report contains the final results of the excavations. At Kilbeggan South 1.2 two pits containing frequent brick fragments and charcoal along with associated features were uncovered. It is suspected that they represent the remains of two brick firing pits. A radiocarbon date of one of the fills has yielded a date of 556±47BP (1310-1440AD) putting it in the Medieval Period. This date may be an intrusion and not a true age for the site. However if it is taken as true then it would represent an early example of brick production in Ireland. Each of the excavated sites was archaeologically resolved within the footprint of the proposed road scheme under terms established by the Project Archaeologist, Westmeath County Council.