2003:374 - DERRY: Woodside Road, Derry

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Derry Site name: DERRY: Woodside Road

Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/03/36

Author: Cia McConway, Archaeological Development Services Ltd.

Site type: Habitation site and Fulacht fia

Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)

ITM: E 643242m, N 915087m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.981533, -7.324456

A housing development of approximately 240 units is currently under construction along Woodside Road, Derry. Monitoring of Phase 1 of this development uncovered three main areas of archaeological deposits and several isolated features. All topsoil-stripping was carried out using a machine fitted with a toothless bucket and was monitored.

Site 1 consisted of two linear gullies running downslope in a north-west/south-east fashion, with five subcircular pits lying to their south and east. Pottery recovered from some of these features would suggest that these date to the Bronze Age. Nine other isolated features were uncovered and excavated within the two fields. Two of these proved to be modern; however, a further two also produced prehistoric pottery.

Sites 2 and 3 consisted of two areas of heat-shattered stone, charcoal-rich soils and a series of subsoil-cut features. These included large subrectangular pits, which have been interpreted as troughs, smaller pits and stake-holes. The nature of the fills of these features would suggest that they represent the ploughed out and redeposited remains of a fulacht fiadh.

In general, the deposits uncovered so far indicate that the site lies within a previously unrecorded prehistoric landscape and represents evidence of extensive Bronze Age activity along the eastern bank of the Foyle.

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