placenamesSkreen
An Scrín
Clowanstown preserves evidence of fishing and later activity beside a prehistoric lake.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- An Scrín · Irish · main form
- Skreen · English · main form
Place & story
Fishing beside the lake
Excavation at Clowanstown in 2006, ahead of the M3 motorway, uncovered a probable Mesolithic fishing platform. Four conical baskets lay in a depression, while substantial stakes nearby were interpreted as possible supports for fishing or mooring. Burnt timbers helped consolidate a platform where stone tools, woodchips and hazelnut shells survived. The excavator suggested that fish and fishing equipment were prepared there. [2]
Later use of the wetland
After peat accumulated and the lake retreated, people returned to the site. Neolithic burnt mounds included successive layers of charcoal, heated stone and marl associated with troughs. Pottery fragments and deposits of cremated bone accompanied this later activity, revealing a sequence more complex than a fishing camp alone. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Skreen. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- 2006:1533 — Clowanstown (1), Meath, A008/011 E3064 · Matt Mossop, Archaeological Consultancy Services
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2017-12-01. How this page was prepared.