2005:017 - 51–53 FOUNTAIN STREET, TOWNPARKS, BELFAST, Antrim

The proposed redevelopment of the site as a retail and office building necessitated the monitoring of primary ground reduction works, which entailed the lifting of the existing floor levels and reducing the ground level by a further depth of c. 0.6m. A series of four test-trenches within the line of the piling trenches was opened along the north and south boundary of the development site.
The deposits uncovered appear to be primarily representative of the construction of the building which occupied the site until its demolition during the current phase of works. The earliest activity identified appears to be the deposition of a remnant ground surface or garden soil, as evidenced within pile Trench 2. This deposit appears to be neither deep nor extensive, as it was not present within the remainder of the site and may rather extend further northwards outside the footprint of the existing development. The area within the site then saw a period of deliberate infilling with a backfill clay material, which is likely to have been utilised to level and consolidate the ground surface prior to building within the area. It is also during this time that the most recent building on the site was constructed, with an infill demolition layer consisting of crushed brick and mortar introduced in order to raise the floor level.