Archaeological Investigations on the N2/M2 Finglas to Ashbourne road project.

This book is the 15th volume in the TII Heritage Series

Ashbourne, in County Meath, owes its existence to two brothers who saw a business opportunity in new roads, at a time when there were more goods, people and wheeled vehicles on the move than ever before. Richard and Frederick Bourne were granted a licence to build and maintain roads in the region in 1816. They built a tolled road between Dublin and Slane and opened a coaching inn and hotel at Killegland, which they now called Ashbourne. Their new turnpike was the precursor of the old N2 road, which in turn is superseded by the new M2 motorway. It seems that we are always building on the past. 

This latest title in the TII Heritage series records a wealth of discoveries along the new N2/M2 road corridor, from early prehistory to modern times—such as the Neolithic enclosure at Kilshane where dozens of cattle were slaughtered for ceremonial feasting; an Iron Age woman buried with rings on her toes at Rath; Bronze Age crouched inhumation burials with food vessels, in a ditched enclosure at Harlockstown; or farmsteads of the Anglo-Norman period in Baltrasna, Cookstown and Muckerstown. It is essential reading for anyone interested in new developments in Irish archaeology and the history of north County Dublin and County Meath.

Author

Finola O’Carroll studied archaeology at University College Dublin. Her interests initially lay in prehistoric, specifically Bronze Age artefacts, but have expanded to include prehistoric and medieval landscape studies. She was formerly co-owner/director of Cultural Resource Development Services Ltd (CRDS), and now co-owns Trim Archaeology Projects Ltd—an archaeological consultancy, and the Blackfriary Archaeology Field School, an ongoing research and training excavation for students and the community. Finola lives in County Meath.