2006:140 - LOUGHADIAN (2), Armagh

This site was excavated as part of the recently completed BGE (Northern Ireland) gas pipeline. Two trenches had been investigated in the vicinity of a possible man-made mound, with potential archaeological remains consisting of a possible linear ditch and two possible archaeological layers uncovered in one of them. This trench was re-excavated to reveal very fine rich, dark-brown loam topsoil, 0.3m thick, but with increased thickness (up to 0.55m) as a result of root action at the northern half of the trench overlying three possible archaeological features. Immediately underlying the topsoil was a loose, gravelly orange sandy clay layer, c. 7.5m wide, which sealed a black, charcoal-flecked clayey soil overlying the very gravelly clay subsoil. Both of the possible archaeological layers proved to have been formed as a result of modern agricultural activity and were not of ancient origin. A 1.75m-wide possible subsoil-cut linear feature filled by a fine grey/brown soil uncovered 4.8m from the south end of the trench proved to be nothing more than a variation in the subsoil caused by root activity, resulting in a localised increased depth of topsoil.

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