2002:0034 - KILMORE, Armagh

An excavation was undertaken from 4 March to 17 May 2002 by a team under the direction of a member of the Archaeological Excavation Unit of the Environment and Heritage Service before construction of an extension to the church hall of the parish church of St Aidan, Kilmore, Co. Armagh. The site was to the rear/north of the church hall and was bounded on the east by the perimeter wall of the church and graveyard of St Aidan, on the west by the fence-line of the newer cemetery, and on the north by an area of rough grazing. The area excavated measured 24m north–south by 19m.

Topsoil was removed by a mechanical excavator fitted with a toothless bucket, revealing archaeological deposits and recent disturbance caused by sewage pipes, manholes, electricity cables and field drains.

The excavation revealed several major features including portions of three ditches, a large well, several large pits, post-holes, pits and gullies. The innermost, and largest ditch, 2m wide by 1.5m deep, ran north–south along the line of the church boundary and cut a large pit that ran below the perimeter wall and into the church graveyard. A second ditch, also running north–south, was uncovered 10m west of the inner ditch. This ditch, 1.2m wide and a maximum of 0.9m deep, had cut a large circular well. The outermost ditch was situated 2m west of the middle ditch and was 1.2m wide and a maximum of 0.8m deep. Unlike the other two ditches, the fill was relatively clean, and it appeared to have become filled shortly after it was dug.

A large well was uncovered on the northern edge of the excavation, and the site was extended 5m north to reveal its maximum extent. The well was circular, 4m in diameter, and was excavated to a depth of 2m. A line of six wooden stakes driven into the lower fills was uncovered near the southern edge of the well, running east–west, along with some worked timbers. The upper fills of the well were cut by the middle of the three ditches. The extension also revealed a fourth ditch, aligned east–west, which was not excavated as it lay beyond the area of the proposed development.

In the area between the inner and middle ditches numerous archaeological features were uncovered, mostly post-holes of varying sizes and depth. Three gullies, all running east–west for 6m before being cut by the middle ditch, were also excavated. The eastern extent of these gullies is unknown, as they had been badly truncated by a modern pipe-trench. Other features included a small pit with burnt stones, and a rectangular, straight-edged pit, possibly originally wood lined, with a stake-hole in each corner.

Numerous finds were recovered from the site. There were over 1000 sherds of pottery, mostly souterrain ware and everted-rim ware. Several tanged iron knifes, a small domed bone comb, part of a polished stone axe, some iron pin fragments and part of a lignite bracelet were among the artefacts found. Some scraps of preserved leather were also recovered from the well.

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