Significant archaeological artefacts including a burial site containing the bodies of an estimated 1,000 people have been discovered along the route of a new road scheme in Co Louth.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) has confirmed the finds, which lie along the route of the proposed cross-Border motorway, just north of Dundalk.
The authority's archaeologists are finalising information on the finds for inclusion in a seminar on archaeology unearthed as a result of the roads programme, to be held in Dublin on September 15th.
A series of booklets will be produced for the seminar detailing archaeological artefacts and the knowledge gained from road schemes across the State.
A separate briefing on the archaeology of the controversial M3 Clonee to Kells motorway has recently been produced by Meath County Council and the NRA. It covers a range of issues from the archaeological test trenching to the significance of the results so far uncovered. It is set to be repeated as further significant artefact finds are expected.
However, NRA chief archaeologist Daire O'Rourke said "exciting" material from the early medieval period has also been discovered elsewhere, particularly on the western bypass of Dundalk and the on the cross-Border northern link route.
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