County: Derry Site name: Ballynashallog/Ballynagard (Thornhill College)
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/14/186
Author: Christopher J. Farrimond, FarrimondMacManus Ltd (Derry)
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 645947m, N 921311m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 55.037199, -7.281211
Monitoring of ground reduction works was undertaken from 6–26 November 2014, having been commissioned by Whitemountain Quarries Ltd. on behalf of the Western Education & Library Board and relates to a Planning Condition requested by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency: Historic Monuments Unit (NIEA:HMU) for archaeological mitigation of impact of development works under Planning Policy Statement 6: Built Heritage 4 (PPS 6:BH4) associated with Planning Consent for a proposed car park located at Ballynashallog/Ballynagard Tds. (Thornhill College), 142 Culmore Road, Derry, Co. Londonderry (Planning Ref: A/2013/0508/F).
Previous archaeological evaluation works comprising the excavation of test-trenches undertaken from 9–2 July 2014 by FarrimondMacManus Ltd under archaeological Licence No. AE/14/99E revealed evidence for considerable sub-surface disturbance within the Proposed Development Area (PDA). Excavation of the test-trenches revealed that the entire area of the proposed car park appeared to have been stripped of topsoil during previous works at the site with several instances of series of parallel linear marks cutting into the subsoil noted, which appeared similar to the type of marks caused by the teeth of the digging bucket of a mechanical excavator.
Moreover, excavation of the evaluation trenches revealed that the shallow topsoil overlay layers of modern infill throughout much of the area under investigation. Within the central portion of the site, these layers of modern infill measured 0.25–0.5m in depth, increasing to a depth of up to 1.7m at the north-west limit of the PDA.
While no archaeological features, remains or deposits were noted within any of the test-trenches during evaluation works at the site, given the sensitivity of the site, the nature of the works associated with the current development proposal and the potential impact of such works upon any previously unrecorded archaeological remains which may have survived in situ within the development area, a programme of archaeological monitoring was implemented during groundworks to ensure compliance with relevant statutory Heritage and Planning Policies and as a means of satisfying the archaeological planning conditions imposed upon the proposed development.
The monitoring works at the site largely confirmed the results of the evaluation test-trenching with primary ground reduction works associated with the subject proposal necessitating the excavation of overburden and subsoil to a depth of c.1.2m throughout the PDA.
No archaeological features, remains or deposits were identified during archaeological monitoring works at the site.
150 Elmvale, Culmore, Derry BT48 8SL
