County: Down Site name: INCH
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 37:5 Licence number: —
Author: Declan P. Hurl, Historic Monuments, DoE (NI)
Site type: Religious house - Cistercian monks
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 747919m, N 845002m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.332258, -5.725549
Three sites were examined in a 10-week season as part of a programme of excavations expected to last several seasons.
Site 1
The main excavation (90 sq m) took place in an area north of the abbey precinct in which the parish graveyard is gradually expanding. Traces of medieval structures and industrial activity were dated by pottery and a coin. Underlying this horizon were substantial Early Christian features, including several small ditches running across the slope (north-south) and a large pit 3m-4m wide and almost 2m deep.
Site 2
A number of trial trenches was opened across the site of the west range of conventual buildings. There was much relatively recent disturbance in the area and little trace of medieval walling survived. An earlier ditch was discovered, running under the west wall of the cloister walk.
Site 3
A brief survey of submerged timbers in the river Quoile was carried out by the Irish Underwater Archaeological Research Team, to complete a successful diving programme at the site in 1992 (Excavations 1992, 12-13). Some six further constructional timbers were located and their positions plotted but they had probably been displaced by dredging. Several brass blanks (for tokens ?) were recovered.
5-33 Hill St.,Belfast. BT1 2LA
