County: Down Site name: NEWRY RIVER FLOOD ALLEVIATION, Newry
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Chris Long, ADS Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 708627m, N 825806m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.169721, -6.336328
Monitoring was carried out as part of ongoing work within the Newry Flood Alleviation Scheme. The project involved the replacement of the existing retaining wall with a new structure. No archaeological deposits were recorded.
The southern portion of the site was on quite a steep slope. Topsoil-stripping here revealed that major remodelling of the area had taken place in the past, probably during the construction of the school. Much of the area was made ground. There was no sign of archaeology.
Topsoil-stripping in the northern portion found that this relatively level area was composed of made ground. The original surface was undulated and had been levelled using rubbish and fill in many places. It was possible that some of this had occurred during the school construction, as grass was still visible on an older ground surface. Large areas of 20th-century rubbish appeared to have been dumped along the wall at the eastern edge of this part of the site. The site was monitored until subsoil was reached. Nothing of archaeological note was uncovered.
The lack of evidence for occupation or use in earlier centuries may have been the result of subsequent remodelling of the area, but this is very unlikely. It is much more likely that there was nothing of archaeological note present.
Unit 48, Westlink Enterprise Centre, Belfast BT12 5BJ
