2004:1648 - CHURCHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL, CALEDON, Tyrone

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Tyrone Site name: CHURCHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL, CALEDON

Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: AE/04/038

Author: Colin Dunlop, Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, Farset Enterprise Park, 638 Springfield Road, Belfast BT12 7DY.

Site type: Early Neolithic; post-medieval

Period/Dating:

ITM: E 675585m, N 845572m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.353219, -6.837262

Four distinct phases of archaeological activity were identified within the site during excavation. These took the form of an Early Neolithic hearth/pit, an L-shaped 17th-century ditch, an 18th-century ditch and an area of lime-mortared rubble of indeterminate date (most probably 16th-18th-century). These features were mostly discrete; the only features that intersected were the 18th-century ditch, which crossed the 17th-century ditch along its north-east to south-west extension.

Excavation of these features uncovered large quantities of pottery and artefacts, including many fine sherds of Early Neolithic pottery and a polished stone axe from the Early Neolithic hearth/pit, and a large quantity of 18th-century pottery and a George II halfpenny from the 18th-century ditch.

The Early Neolithic pit was c. 1.5m long by 0.5m wide by 0.25m deep, oriented roughly north-south. The matrix of the material contained a large quantity of burnt stones, charcoal and broken quartz and iron pyrite pieces. The finds were four hammer/grinding stones, six Early Neolithic flint blades, three of which displayed retouching, 350 sherds of Early Neolithic pottery and a very small (c. 30mm by 70mm) polished stone axe ('sedimentary slate, specific rock typology unidentifiable without petrological testing', Kenneth James, Ulster Museum Curator of Geology, pers. comm.).

The pottery contained a large number of quartzite and iron pyrite inclusions. These were deliberately inserted as temper or grog to prevent shattering during firing. The grinding process used to break down quartz and iron pyrite rocks for use in the pottery would create a lot of waste and it may be the case that the materials found within the pit are waste from this process broken down by the in situ hammer/grinding stones. There is no evidence for intact vessels having been deposited within the pit. It is possible that the pottery was never intact and may have been damaged during firing and then dumped into this pit along with the waste from the grinding process.

The flint blades could also be considered as waste deposits, as all showed signs of extended use. Their edges were damaged and blunt and, in the case of one of the retouched blades, the artefact was worn down across the whole of its surface. Only the polished stone axe appears to have been deliberately deposited, as it showed no signs of wear and was discovered sitting vertically within the pit; the remaining artefacts were evenly distributed throughout the feature. Though the Early Neolithic pit appears isolated within the confines of the site, we must consider the fact that only a small area was excavated and it is therefore likely that there is further undiscovered Neolithic activity in close proximity.

The 17th-century ditch took the form of two cuts, one running north-west to south-east for 5.2m before disappearing under the baulk to the south-east and the other north-east to south-west for 4m before disappearing under the baulk to the south-west. The ditches had a narrow gap between them and varied in width and depth, from 1m to 1.4m wide and 0.05m to 0.35m deep. The function of the ditch was unclear. It was very irregularly roughly L-shaped and did not have any uniformity of depth. The lack of contiguous post-holes or a large quantity of stone suggested that it was not a wall foundation trench. The material within the trench showed no evidence for root activity, so it was unlikely to be a garden feature. Its irregularity and free-draining nature also ruled out its use as an animal water trough and its orientation on the slope is not consistent with it having been a drain. The hill upon which the site sits has had a parish church upon it since at least 1641. It is therefore possible that this ditch is associated with church activity.

The 18th-century ditch was exposed as the terminal of a north-west/south-east-oriented ditch, 2.5m long by 1.4m wide and 0.35m deep at its deepest point. It disappeared under the baulk at its south-east end. The ditch was stepped to the northeast and had a shallow slope to the south-west. Its principle function must have been that of a drain, but the large though fragmentary nature of the artefact deposits within the ditch suggests that it was also being used as a dump for debris. The relatively high-class nature of some of the finds, for example the Delft and sgraffitto ware and an Irish export George II halfpenny (1742), indicates that the material was coming from an affluent source and, as the nearest, and most likely, source of this is the neighbouring 18th-century St John's Church, it seems possible that this ditch was associated with activity relating to this phase of the church. The orientation of both ditches suggests that they continue under the road and towards the present-day church.

To the north of the site a bank was removed to create a level surface for construction. This bank was found to be partly artificial, with its western extent being formed from large chunks of lime-mortarcovered stones. A date could not be ascribed to this material, as the only artefacts recovered from its matrix were a few pieces of animal bone. One can only speculate on its provenance, with the most likely source being the demolition of the original 'Aghaloo' church in the 17th century or, more intriguingly, the castle built in the 18th century by the Earl of Cork, the actual position of which is unknown.