Evidence of Stone Age and early medieval settlement has been found in County Meath.
For the past nine months, archaeologists have been conducting digs at two sites near Navan owned by the Tara Mines company in County Meath.
One is at Simonstown, where a fifth century ring fort has been discovered, which was partly surrounded by a small shallow lake. A series of drains that was constructed as part of the structure kept it and its residents dry.
Beneath this ring fort, the remains of a Neolithic or Stone Age house emerged, along with Stone Age pottery, flint scrapers and arrow heads indicating that this site had been occupied at various times over a period spanning more than five thousand years.
The second dig at nearby Randalstown which focused on the remains of the fourteenth-century Saint Anne's Church and well is only partially complete.
A crypt containing human bones was discovered beneath the church, but the artefacts unearthed suggest that pagan worship may also have taken place here.
It's even been suggested that the name Saint Anne is a derivation of Anu, an ancient Irish fertility goddess.
All items discovered by the archaeological teams are currently being restored at the National Museum and will help to answer questions about the lifestyles of our ancient ancestors.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 25 February 1976. The reporter is Conor McAnally.
