County: Tyrone Site name: NEWTOWNSTEWART
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 17:47 Licence number: —
Author: Declan Hurl, EHS
Site type: House - fortified house
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 640173m, N 885814m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.718791, -7.376474
As a stage in the conservation and presentation of the fortified house, the internal level was to be lowered throughout to that of the original basement. This meant that the Victorian market wall had to be supported before it could be underpinned.
The infill of the house, c. 0.8m deep, had been determined in an earlier, more extensive excavation to be largely modern (Excavations 1999, 291–2), and original interior features had been seriously disturbed or destroyed. The removal of the remaining infill was undertaken using a machine with a toothless bucket under archaeological supervision. An oblique piece of masonry located during the previous excavation was further exposed and found to be in situ, probably representing the base of a fireplace.
The market wall was unexpectedly found to have stone footings down on the basement level, making the underpinning unnecessary.
5–33 Hill Street, Belfast BT1 2LA
