2001:1236 - URBALREAGH, Tyrone

The proposed quarry development site is in Urbalreagh townland, midway between Omagh and Strabane, c. 1km to the north-east of Ardstraw village. The development area is c. 190m by 120m in size, and consists of a long parcel of land orientated north-east/south-west. The site is bounded on its west and south-east sides by a national B road, and along all other sides by agricultural land. The desktop survey revealed the location of two sites of archaeological interest within the boundary of the proposed development site, as well as a number of archaeological sites within a 2km area, suggesting that it has been an area of activity in the past. In the case of the possible megalithic monument, SMR 17:70, a protective fence was erected around the base of the mound upon which the monument stands, to delimit an exclusion zone. In addition to this, gravel extraction is to be stepped down from around this area to avoid creating an unstable vertical face and to ensure the stability of the monument. The works will also have implications for the subsurface remains of SMR 17:71, an imprecisely located small cairn, as well as any subsurface archaeological features that may survive within the quarry site.

A programme of pre-development testing and subsequent monitoring was put in place. The test-trenching concentrated on the examination of a number of possible locations within the area for the site of the cairn SMR 17:71. None of the trenches revealed any evidence for archaeology, with the thin overburden of topsoil revealing a ‘natural’ consisting of shattered bedrock. The subsequent monitoring of topsoil removal, which is to occur in stages over the lifetime of the quarry, did not reveal anything of archaeological interest either.

Unit 48, Westlink Enterprise Centre, 30–50 Distillery Street, Belfast, BT12 5BJ