County: Down Site name: PHIL’S FORT, BALLYNARIS
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 20:54 Licence number: AE/05/169
Author: Kara Ward, Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN.
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 717786m, N 853730m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.418488, -6.185144
Excavation of two small trenches was required to facilitate road safety improvement works on the B2 Lurgan–Dromore road. The trenches were necessary for the insertion of two gateposts and two strainers. An archaeologist was required to carry out these excavations on behalf of the Roads Service, as this section of the works impacts on the scheduled area of Phil’s Fort. The monument is a large oval mound with a rounded profile and the vestiges of a possible outer bank at the north-east. The monument type is not clear, but it is thought to be a motte, raised rath or prehistoric burial mound. The trenches were excavated by hand and measured 0.8m by 0.5m by 0.5m each. No archaeological finds, features or deposits were encountered.
