County: Derry Site name: COLERAINE: 34 The Diamond
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 7:47, 7:90, 7:51, 7:19 (close to) Licence number: —
Author: Deirdre Murphy, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: Town
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 684715m, N 932373m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 55.131470, -6.671570
An assessment was carried out at the site of 'Tweedies', No. 34 The Diamond, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, in September 1999. The proposed development involved the part refurbishment and part demolition of an existing building at The Diamond to provide two retail units. Groundworks involved the insertion of a number of reinforced concrete ground-beams in the southern part of the site, in the area of existing and infilled basements.
Six trenches were excavated in the area of the proposed development, and the excavation of the ground-beams was carried out under archaeological supervision.
Trench 1 was excavated east-west in the area of one of the ground-beams; it was 4.8m long and 1.18m wide and was excavated to a depth of 1m. A concrete floor extended to a depth of 0.1m and overlay a layer of rubble consisting of large stone, mortar and brick. This extended to a depth of 0.4m and lay above a dark brown, loamy garden soil that contained animal bone and red brick. This extended to a depth of 0.9m, at which point the natural, orange, gravelly clay was exposed. Excavation ceased at a depth of 1m. No features were evident, and no finds were recovered.
Trench 2, excavated along Bellhouse Lane in a north-south direction, was 8.5m long and 0.9m wide and was excavated to a depth of 0.7m. The floor of the basement was a mortar and stone layer and extended to a depth of 0.07m. This overlay a layer of crushed red brick that extended to a depth of 0.36m, which in turn overlay a light brown, sandy clay. This extended to a depth of 0.6m and directly overlay the natural gravel. No features were evident, and, apart from a few pieces of natural flint recovered from the bottom of the trench, no finds were recovered.
Trench 3 was excavated east-west parallel to Church Street in the area of an infilled basement; it was 4.5m long and 1.2m wide and was excavated to a maximum depth of 1.8m. The fill consisted entirely of stone and brick rubble that had obviously been used to backfill the basement. The excavation ceased at a depth of 1.8m owing to the rubble continually collapsing into the trench. No features were uncovered, and no finds were recovered.
Trench 4 was excavated north-south in the northern area of the site along the line of a demolished external wall in an area of proposed groundworks; it was 16m long and 1m wide and was excavated to a depth of 1.5m. A concrete floor extended to a depth of 0.1m, below which a brown, sandy layer was exposed. This sand was clearly a base for a pavement along Bellhouse Lane and extended to a depth of 0.18m, where it overlay a hardcore layer. This extended to a depth of 0.7m and overlay the natural gravel. No features or finds were uncovered.
Trench 5, excavated east-west in the northern area of the site perpendicular to Trench 4, was 6m long and 1m wide and was excavated to a depth of 1m. The concrete floor had already been removed, and a hardcore rubble layer was visible that extended to a depth of 0.4m. This overlay a thin layer of loose, grey gravel that contained animal bone, a sherd of medieval pottery, a sherd of post-medieval stoneware and some pieces of flint. With the exception of one butt-trimmed flake, all the pieces were natural. This layer overlay one of brown sand and gravel at a depth of 0.65m, which most likely represented the natural ground.
Trench 6 was excavated in a north-south direction near the centre of the site parallel to Trench 4; it was 12m long and 1m wide and was excavated to a depth of 1.2m. The concrete floor overlay a layer of hardcore rubble that extended to a depth of 0.4m. This overlay a layer of fine, loose gravel that extended to a depth of 1m and overlay the natural gravel. No features were evident, and no finds were recovered.
The monitoring of these trenches revealed no evidence of archaeological stratigraphy. The ground-beams were for the most part found within an infilled cellar, which consisted of a rubble fill above the natural gravel. The northern area of the site had not been disturbed by the construction of the cellars, and the natural gravel was exposed at an average depth of 0.7m below the surface. All groundworks are completed, and no further archaeological work is required at this site.
43 Downshire Road, Newry, Co. Down
