2005:1479 - AGHALOO CHURCH, ROUSKY, Tyrone

NMI Burial Excavation Records

County: Tyrone Site name: AGHALOO CHURCH, ROUSKY

Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 60:16 Licence number: AE/05/116

Author: Naomi Carver, Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, BT7 1NN.

Site type: ?Early medieval activity

Period/Dating:

ITM: E 666267m, N 854930m

Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.438586, -6.978488

A series of archaeological investigations were carried out during September and October 2005 in advance of the installation of a slurry tank by the landowner. The site was located in an area of drumlins, c. 3km from the town of Aughnacloy. The area of the proposed slurry tank was c. 50m to the north-east of a late medieval church. The church and associated graveyard occupied the top of a drumlin at a height of around 100m above sea level. The church was built during the 17th century and the D-shaped graveyard within which it is situated may have been built upon an earlier boundary. Early 17th-century maps suggest that the site may have been the focus of previous ecclesiastical activity.
During the initial evaluation in September 2005, an area of 10m by 15m was stripped and a number of archaeological features were recorded. The evaluation was followed in October 2005 by a small-scale excavation, during which the features, including a ditch, were further investigated. The principal objective of the excavation was to ascertain the character and, if possible, the date of the ditch. The excavation was complemented by a small-scale geophysical survey, the main aim of which was to trace the continuation of the ditch.
The geophysical survey was undertaken in the area to the north-east of the excavation trench. It highlighted several anomalies but failed to trace the continuation of the ditch in this area. It could have been that the ditch did not continue into this area, or that it changed direction and therefore was not detected by the geophysical survey. A linear anomaly detected by both the resistivity and magnetometer surveys probably equates to a field boundary removed in recent years.
Five main phases of activity were identified during the excavation. The earliest phase related to a hearth which survived as a hollow cut into the subsoil. The hearth had two post-holes associated with it, which may have formed part of a hearth superstructure. Overlying the post-holes, and probably also part of the earliest phase, was a charcoal-rich deposit. The second phase of activity consisted of a linear feature being cut across the site. The linear feature, probably a ditch, was cut through the fill of the hearth and this resulted in slump from the hearth’s fill into the base of the ditch. During the third phase three successive fills either accumulated or were deposited within the ditch. The lower two fills were probably a result of the feature beginning to naturally silt up, while the homogenous character of the upper fill suggested it had been added deliberately, perhaps to level the site. The fourth phase of activity consisted of agricultural activity dating (by pottery) to the 17th and 18th centuries. This activity had produced a mixed cultivation soil which was present over the whole site. The cultivation soil also overlay a group of negative features cut into the subsoil. These comprised a pit and seven post- and stake-holes. These features were stratigraphically isolated from the other features in the trench and could not be closely phased within the stratigraphic sequence. The final phase of activity on the site was the result of modern building work.
The investigations at Aghaloo recovered relatively few artefactual remains. The uppermost fill of the ditch contained a small amount of burnt animal bone but no immediately datable material such as pottery. The absence of artefactual material from the ditch suggests that it was not the focus of intense activity. The ditch was probably a field boundary and may originally have consisted of a bank and ditch. The hearth feature and the post-/stake-hole group to the north were possibly contemporary, although this is not demonstrable. The intended function of the pit is unclear, although it was probably reused for deposition of rubbish. The fill of the pit contained burnt bone, charred grain and a small amount of iron slag. Charred grain was also recovered from several of the post- and stake-holes. The charcoal-rich fill of the hearth feature contained a substantial amount of charred grain and a possible crucible fragment. The presence of metalworking debris suggests that this activity was being carried out on, or near, the site, and preliminary analysis of the slag suggests the use of early metalworking technology. It is hoped that radiocarbon dates may be obtained from the fill of the hearth feature and the fill of the pit in an effort to relate the excavated features to each other and to the medieval church.