2000:0159 - COLERAINE: Coleraine Bridge, Derry

In November 2000 and January 2001 two days of monitoring were carried out as part of the archaeological mitigation of the construction of a new footbridge adjacent to the main bridge over the Bann at Coleraine. Monitoring was required because of the potential for survival of the remnants of earlier bridges over the Bann at this point, known from a study of the historical documents.

Initial topsoil-stripping for the bridge footprint took place on the west side of the river by the Clothworker’s Buildings on 21 November 2000. A flat bucket was used to strip off the extremely thin topsoil. Rather than subsoil, all that was revealed below this was modern made-up land, consisting of mixed earth, sand, cement and rubble. The next phase of work took place on 5 January 2001. A limited area of the previously exposed made-up land was excavated to a depth of 1m, followed by some excavation behind the piling placed in the river at this point. Neither of these activities revealed anything of potential archaeological value, as all the material again consisted of modern rubble. It was concluded that any surviving remains of earlier bridges must lie either below the present-day bridge, or to its south.

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